From Burning Accounts to Stable Profits: 5 Survival Principles After Years in Crypto

I entered the crypto market in 2018, carrying with me a belief that many newcomers have had: as long as you go all-in on the right trade, your life can change. At that time, I had $5,000 in capital, trading based on emotions, chasing peaks – hitting bottoms like it was daily routine. The peak was one night when BTC suddenly crashed in the early morning, and my account vanished more than 90% in just a few hours. The feeling of seeing the account about to be wiped out, heart pounding, hands freezing – I still can’t forget it to this day. Those falls taught me a hard lesson: in crypto, the winner is not the one who makes money the fastest, but the one who survives the longest. Below are 5 principles that helped me go from the brink of account wipeout to stable trading for many years.

1. No Profit Taking = Not Yet Alive In the beginning, I only focused on where to set stop loss, but later I realized: knowing when to take profit is the key to survival. My current principle is very simple but extremely effective: When total profit reaches about 10% of capital, I immediately withdraw 50% of the profit to a cold wallet. The remaining part continues to be used for trading. This approach keeps me proactive. Even if the market turns around, I at most give back some profits, while the principal remains safe. Over the years, I have withdrawn profits dozens of times. There were weeks of consecutive withdrawals with large amounts, and that gave me a very strong mindset when the market experienced sharp volatility. 👉 When profits are “dressed in armor,” you won’t fear black swans.
2. Prepare for the Battle: The 3 Timeframes Method I no longer stare at the 1-minute chart to guess and speculate. Now, I only spend about 30 minutes a day analyzing, but with much higher efficiency thanks to a systematic approach: Daily timeframe (D1): identify the overall trend – whether the market is in an uptrend, downtrend, or accumulation phase. 4-hour timeframe (H4): find important price zones, identify support and resistance. 15-minute timeframe (M15): enter trades only when there are clear signals like structural breaks or confirmed patterns. Thanks to this method, I avoid many “gamble” trades. During periods of extreme market volatility, because the major trend had weakened beforehand, I always entered trades with preparation, not luck.
3. Accept Small Losses to Win Big One of my biggest changes is disciplined risk management. Each trade never risks more than 1–1.5% of total capital, no matter how “beautiful” the setup looks. My win rate is actually not high, around 35–40%. But I always keep a profit/risk ratio of about 4:1 or 5:1. That means: losing 5–10 trades in a row is okay, as long as I catch a major trend that can compensate for all losses. 👉 Trading is not about winning every trade, but about surviving long enough for the odds to work in your favor.
4. Emotional Control Is More Important Than Analysis I have a rule that seems simple but has saved me many times: after losing two consecutive trades, turn off the device, go exercise, or do something else. No exceptions. Many accounts get wiped out not because of bad analysis, but because: Vengeful desire to recover, overtrading, breaking the discipline set. The market doesn’t need you to revenge it. Your job is to keep a cool head and follow the plan.
5. Harsh Truths You Must Know The brutal truth of crypto is: Account burnouts are often waiting for a miracle, survivors quietly accumulate through discipline and compound interest. Don’t pay too much attention to those showing off profits “doubling or tripling overnight.” People who truly go through multiple market cycles are usually very silent because they understand that persistence is the greatest asset. Conclusion Crypto is full of opportunities, but what’s missing most is the mindset of not giving up and enough discipline. If you’re losing, don’t rush to find a new trade – review how you manage capital, take profits, and control emotions. Learn the right way, go slow but steady, and you will realize: surviving is already a victory, while profits are just the accompanying reward. If you want to deepen your market knowledge, perfect entry points, and develop sustainable trading mindset, always prioritize learning. Knowledge and discipline are assets that can never be liquidated.