The scariest thing in crypto isn’t losing money—it’s getting liquidated in one go, without even a chance to breathe.

Back in 2019, I entered the market with $20,000. I jumped on DOGE as the hype started. When it went up, I couldn’t bear to sell; when it dropped, I kept averaging down—two months later, my account was down to $8,000. I was glued to the screen every night until 3 a.m., losing clumps of hair from the stress.

Later, I forced myself to stick to three hard rules. Last year, I grew my principal steadily to $100,000 in just four months. In March, when the market crashed 30%, everyone in my group was getting liquidated and wailing, but my account didn’t even have a 10% drawdown.

**Rule 1: Only ever use half of your principal**

Last month during the AI narrative pump, so many people were shouting “go all in!” I only put in 30% of my position. Sure enough, a few days later the market corrected. That’s when the cash I kept on hand was worth real gold—while others were panic selling, I was picking up bargains.

There’s never a shortage of opportunities in crypto. What’s lacking are people who still have chips in hand when the opportunities come.

**Rule 2: Cut losses at 15%, take profit at 20%—no exceptions**

Last year, ETH hit $2,800. Everyone in the community was calling for $3,000. I stuck to my discipline and sold out. A week later, it dropped to $2,200.

Newbies love to “wait a bit longer”—wait for higher highs when it’s up, wait for a bounce when it’s down. In the end, all the gains made by luck are given back by skill.

**Rule 3: Never touch projects you don’t understand**

A few days ago, a fan named Xiao Zhang put his entire $8,000 into SOL when it ran from $210 at the start of the month. This week, SOL dropped to $130, and he got liquidated in three days—now he can’t even pay rent.

My childhood friend had it even worse—he bought some meme coin because a KOL recommended it. The whitepaper didn’t even make basic sense. A week later, the devs rugged and the coin went to zero.

Last week, someone else dropped a new coin link in the group chat, saying, “guaranteed to double.” I skimmed the whitepaper—it was so full of holes it was laughable. Blocked immediately.

The market is turbulent every day now. There’s always someone shouting “buy the dip” or “sell the top.” But I keep my position at 60%, holding 40% in cash so I can sleep at night.

Remember: If you can protect your first $10,000, you’ll have a shot at making $100,000. If you can’t stick to discipline, the market won’t show you any mercy.

This space is full of get-rich-quick stories, but the ones who survive are always those who learn how to protect themselves first.