After spending ten years in this market, I traded a painful, devastating loss for the ultimate insight on “when to exit the game.”

The 2017 bull run is still vivid in my memory.

Back then, I put most of my chips on ADA, entering at $0.03. Within three months, the price skyrocketed to $1.2—my account ballooned nearly 40x. During that time, the first thing I did every morning was check my balance, watching those numbers climb higher and higher. I even started researching which car to buy—until I made the classic rookie mistake: refusing to sell.

The market turned far faster than I expected. ADA crashed from $1.2 back to $0.2, and almost all my profits evaporated. The “luxury car dream” instantly became “just getting a used car would be nice.”

That experience made me realize on a deep level: entering the market takes vision, but exiting takes wisdom.

**On Taking Profits: Let Rules Replace Greed**

Now I stick to a single strategy—the phased profit-taking method.

When the price rises by a certain amount, I take my initial investment out first. For example, if a coin goes from $1 to $2, I’ll sell 30% of my position to lock in my principal.

If it keeps climbing, I’ll sell another 30% to secure some profit.

As for the rest? I trigger a “trailing stop profit” mechanism: if it pulls back 15% from the peak, I sell everything.

This approach may seem conservative, but it’s extremely effective in practice—you get the bulk of the main uptrend’s profit, without giving it all back later.

**On Stop Losses: Simple and Ruthless Is Most Effective**

I have one iron rule for all my accounts:

Never let a single trade lose more than 5% of my principal.

If I open a position with $10,000, I must cut losses at $500—no negotiation.

Every time I enter, I immediately set a conditional stop loss order—usually at -10%. That’s not cowardice, it’s just basic professional trading discipline.

There are plenty of opportunities, but I only have one pile of capital.

**Counterintuitive Moves: Lower Your Profit Expectations**

Most people lose money not because they can’t read the market, but because they always want to grab “the last penny.”

Now, I only aim for the “meaty middle” of the trade—the head and tail don’t interest me.

Honestly, since I lowered my targets, I’ve steadily achieved a 35% return this year.

**What Determines If You Can Survive Ten Years Is Not Luck, But Discipline**

The most dangerous trap in this market isn’t a crash—it’s a rally so strong you can’t bear to leave.

I used to get mocked by friends for sticking to stop losses—“too timid,” they’d say. But three months later, that coin went to zero—they never brought it up again.

Short-term wins and losses don’t matter.

The only thing that matters is whether you can survive in this market to the end.

Ten years ago, I stumbled through the darkness.

Now, I hold a lamp in my hand.

The light’s still on—are you coming with me?