After mixing in the crypto market for so long, I increasingly realize one truth: making money doesn't rely on a single big gamble; it depends on a strategy that allows you to survive.

I often see people in groups sharing screenshots of tenfold, hundredfold returns. Beginners see this and think that getting rich in the crypto world is all about taking big risks. But my observation is that those who can truly last long and achieve wealth leaps are often not the boldest, but the ones who think through their strategies most clearly.

I’ve paid a lot of tuition fees to realize this. Today, I want to share a mindset I’ve been using — position rolling. Don’t overthink it; this isn’t some get-rich-quick secret. It’s a framework on how to survive and gradually grow with limited funds in the market.

**Key Step: Use profits to take risks, not your principal**

Many people misunderstand position rolling, thinking it’s just continuously adding leverage on unrealized gains, maxing out leverage to gamble on a big move. But it’s actually the opposite.

The core logic of position rolling, in simple terms, is: zero risk to your principal.

My usual approach is this: when opening a position for the first time, only use 5%-10% of your total funds, and always operate in a segregated margin mode. Suppose you have $10,000 in your account; for the first trade, only open $500. If you make a wrong call and hit the stop-loss? You only lose at most $50 to $100, which is well within my psychological comfort zone. If the direction is correct and your account shows unrealized gains? That’s when I consider the next move.

Where does the money for adding positions come from? It must come from profits already earned. For example, if I open a position with $500 and later earn $250, I might take $125 of that to add to the position. But by then, my original $10,000 principal has already been isolated through stop-losses or profit withdrawals.

The benefit is obvious — even if the market reverses later and the added position loses everything, the worst-case scenario is just that one trade’s loss, and the principal is never touched.

**Position rolling is not about leverage, it’s about risk management**

I’ve seen too many people misunderstand position rolling. They think it’s about constantly adding positions and leverage, squeezing every penny into the account. As a result, one black swan event can blow up the account.

True position rolling is actually a risk management framework. Every time you add to a position, ask yourself three questions: Where is this money coming from? If this batch of added positions all lose, can I handle it? Is my principal exposed to risk?

If the answers to these three questions are “profits,” “can handle,” and “not exposed,” then the addition is justified.

**How small funds can gradually grow in the crypto market**

Honestly, this strategy is especially friendly to small funds. You don’t need a tenfold or hundredfold market move to turn things around. As long as you stick to this logic, in 3-5 market cycles, a small account can still grow significantly.

The key is patience. Many people can’t stick with it because when they see others making quick money with leverage on certain coins, their mental defenses collapse. But my experience is that those who persist with this conservative approach tend to survive very well. The aggressive ones might occasionally make big money, but most end up being taught harsh lessons by the market.

In the long run, in the crypto game, the winners are often not the most aggressive, but the most rational.