Crypto circles have never lacked stories; what’s missing are those who stick around until the end. Most people think they fail because of poor market judgment, but the real culprit is out-of-control positions.

I have personally seen countless trajectories: during bull markets, confidence soars, and they feel they've grasped something; when a bear market arrives, they disappear entirely—either losing everything in a mess or being liquidated early. The statistics are harsh: nearly 90% of those who enter the crypto market end up leaving at a loss.

"One day in crypto is like a year in the human world." Behind this saying is not just the intense volatility of the market, but also the brutal speed of elimination. After years of navigating the market, I’ve finally understood one thing: most people fail not because they missed opportunities, but because they never live to see the next one.

**What do survivors have in common**

In the crypto market, those who truly make money are basically of two types. One is the "little tough guy" who can survive multiple full cycles, and the other is the "destined one" with incredible luck.

The most prominent trait of the "little tough guys" is simple: they prioritize "staying in the game." When the ICO bubble burst in 2017, they were still around; they experienced the DeFi craze, the NFT madness, and the FTX explosion—each black swan event prompted them to update their strategies, becoming more cautious and patient. In contrast, those who were eventually eliminated by the market almost all made the same mistake: placing the desire to "make money" above the goal of "not losing money."

**How to truly survive**

When discussing this, I can’t avoid the old topic of position management. But since most people stumble here, I’ll summarize my years of experience.

The first and most important rule is simple: the maximum loss on a single trade must never exceed 2% of your total funds. For example, if you have 100,000 yuan, a loss of 2,000 yuan on a single trade means you must stop loss immediately—no further thinking.

Why 2%? Because this number allows you to withstand up to 50 consecutive losses, leaving your account with about 36,500 yuan (100,000 × (1-2%)^50 ≈ 36,500). Sounds conservative? That’s the difference between those who survive the longest and those who die the fastest. Those who think "this time it will definitely rebound" often end up suffering large losses the night before.