Want to Survive in Crypto? After Reading This Article, You’ll Know Why 90% Die Early

Question

Last week, exactly at 2 a.m., I was sleeping when the ring ring of Zalo startled me out of my wits. I opened my phone and saw 99+ unheard voice messages. I pressed play—it was all the wailing and crying of my little brother who’s been learning to trade with me for the past six months. His name is Tuyen:

“Bro! I’m wiped out! My $12,000 is completely gone! I went full in with 3x long, the price only dropped 2.8% and my account was liquidated, now I have just $800 left!”

I rubbed my eyes, still half asleep, and told him to send me his trade history. After looking at it, I felt a chill down my spine—this wasn’t trading, it was like taking your blood money and burning it at a casino.

98% of capital all-in. No stoploss. 3x leverage. This way of playing is no different from disabling the brakes, taking off the seatbelt, and speeding at 120km/h in the dark. It’s a miracle if you don’t crash!

In my 5 years of crypto analysis, I’ve seen countless people exactly like that: — Just entered the market and got brainwashed by the “all-in to get rich” story — Listen to a few KOLs shouting “hold strong” and think that’s the gospel truth — End up quietly leaving the market after burning their accounts to zero.

I was a victim too. In 2019—during a tiring sideways market—I thought I was “enlightened,” felt extremely confident, and all-in on a top coin. That very night, some bad news dropped out of nowhere, the price tanked with a candle so long I jumped up thinking it was an earthquake. My account was deep in the red, three months of profit wiped out in just… 3 days.

I remember smashing my keyboard in half. Not because of the lost money, but because I was so stupid.

After that, I spent two months researching over a thousand account-wipe cases. And finally came up with 3 survival rules in crypto.

These three rules helped me recover everything I lost, then grow my account from $3,200 → $53,000, a 16x increase in one year. Today I’ll write them out in full so you don’t have to pay real money like I did.

Never Let a Single Trade Exceed 7% of Your Total Capital — Survival Rule #1 Whether you have $1,000 or $100,000, each trade should be max 7% of your capital. No bargaining. No exceptions.

Example: You have $10,000 → Each trade can only use $700. Losing $700 hurts but it won’t kill you.

Now, whenever I trade I have a somewhat “weird” habit: Before placing an order, I use a calculator to get exactly 7% of my capital and write it down in my notes. If I ever go over → I close the app.

One time last month, BTC was pumping hard. Looking at the chart made me want to go head-to-head with the market. But since it would go over 7%, I threw my phone onto the couch and watched comedy clips for 30 minutes. That afternoon, the market dumped 15%. Dodged a bullet.

Here’s a quick calculation to show you why: Full $8,000 (80% capital) x3 leverage Price moves against you 4.2% → account = 0

But: Just $700 (7% capital) x3 Price moves against you 85% → you only lose $700, still have $9,300 left

The safety difference is… 20 times.

Each Trade Can Only Lose a Maximum of 1.1% of Your Account — Stoploss = Your Seatbelt Many people don’t get killed by leverage, but by refusing to cut losses. The most lethal thought in a trader’s head is: “Maybe it’ll bounce back in a bit” “Let’s wait a little longer” “It can’t be this unlucky, right?”

Honestly: There are plenty of opportunities in crypto, but very few survive long enough to see them.

I usually use 7% of my capital for a trade and set my stoploss so that if it’s hit, my total account only loses 1.1%. Example, a $700 trade with 3x leverage—when the stoploss hits, I lose about $110. $110 is nothing. But thanks to that I’m still in the market to make $5,000 – $10,000 later.

I had a friend who learned from me last year, burned his account every month, and every message from him was full of desperation. I made him do just one thing: ATTACH a stoploss to every single trade. Three months later, he messaged me: “Bro, I don’t get wiped out anymore. Losses are small, and I sleep so much better.” I just laughed: “That’s what trading really is.”

Don’t Understand the Market? Sit Still. Doing Nothing Is Also a Skill This is the hardest but most valuable rule. New traders always have “itchy hands” syndrome: — Price ticks a bit, they jump in — See a green candle, they FOMO — See a red candle, they panic — When the market’s as messy as radio static, they still force a trade in

But the truth is: 👉 The best trades of my life all came from times I did nothing.

When the chart looks bad, volume is weak, no clear structure—I turn off the chart. Go drink bubble tea, watch movies, hit the gym, meet friends. No trades = No losses No losses = Still have capital Still have capital = You can wait for the big move

One of my students—used to enter 7–10 trades a day, burned his account every month. I changed just one thing in his routine: “If you don’t see a clear setup → absolutely do not enter.” A year later, his account went from $5,000 → $48,000. He told me: “Turns out the best skill isn’t trading a lot, it’s knowing when NOT to trade.” I nodded. The market doesn’t reward hard workers. The market rewards the PATIENT.

Conclusion Crypto is a deep ocean. Those who jump in with the illusion of “overnight billionaire” get swept back to shore before they even learn to swim. Those who know how to protect their capital swim farther, see more, and eventually find the treasure. I’ve fallen, been stupid, lost everything. But these three small rules pulled me out of the depths. If you understand everything I wrote today—I believe you’ve saved yourself at least 3 years of pain and a few thousand dollars in tuition.