After years of navigating the crypto market, I've seen too many retail investors lose everything with just a few tens of thousands of yuan in capital, then start complaining, "If only I had more capital." Honestly, I'm tired of hearing that argument. My real experience tells me that retail investors crashing is not about money; it's about their brains, which tend to get reckless when they get excited.

I once mentored a student named Akai, who is practically a textbook example of what not to do. His account shrank three times, each time due to the same mistake—full position, heavy leverage, and stubbornly holding against the trend. When the market dropped, he comforted himself, "I'll wait for a rebound and then sell," but it only went deeper. When the market surged, he started dreaming, "This time I can tenfold," turning serious trading into gambling.

In fact, those who survive the longest in this market are never the most aggressive, but those who truly understand how to "stay alive" and "follow the trend." Today, I want to share the approach I used to help Akai get back on his feet. It’s all practical stuff—understanding it thoroughly can save you several years of learning fees.

**Step One, and the most critical: Survival always comes before profit**

When I took over Akai’s account, he was still stubbornly holding losing positions, repeating the old phrase, "Cutting losses now would be too hard on myself." I showed him his trading logs from the past six months and straightforwardly said, "If you don’t act now, and the market keeps deteriorating, you won’t even have the capital to turn things around. At that point, you’ll truly have nothing."

In the end, I didn’t ask for his opinion—I just sold. I reduced his remaining position to within 20%. Three days later, the market dropped another 15%. Akai called me that day, his voice trembling, saying he still breaks out in cold sweat when he thinks about it.

Here, I want to emphasize my core idea again: in this market, survival always takes precedence over making quick money. Especially when your account is already in the red, don’t dream of recouping losses overnight. Be honest and keep your principal safe, save your bullets for truly confirmed opportunities.