Three years ago, I jumped into this space with 5,000 yuan. Back then, I couldn’t even tell what a blue chip or an altcoin was. I had only one thought in my head—getting rich overnight.

Whenever someone in a group chat shouted, “This coin can double in three days,” I’d rush in without blinking. And what happened? The price would dive right after I bought in. Later, I heard a well-known coin was super stable, so I threw all my savings into it. Who knew I’d run into an epic crash, turning tens of thousands into pocket change. During that time, I ate instant noodles every day and still felt pretty extravagant.

Looking back, I was the textbook definition of a rookie—chasing pumps, panicking at dips, buying “bottoms” halfway down, selling at the absolute floor. Treating this like gambling—how could I not lose? After stepping into every pitfall imaginable, I finally started to understand the rules of this market, and my mindset shifted from frantic to cool as a veteran.

Today I’m sharing these hard-earned lessons so newcomers can avoid a few years of detours and save tens of thousands in losses.

**Key Takeaways: Do these 4 things if you want to survive in this space**

**1. Protect your principal! These three rules are a hundred times more important than making money**

The crypto market is insanely volatile. If you want to make money, you need to survive first. The secret to protecting your principal is: don’t be greedy, don’t be impulsive. I set three rules for myself and have never broken them:

- **Only use money you can afford to lose:** If you make 8,000 a month, invest 800 at most. Don’t touch your living expenses, and never use borrowed money. Too much pressure leads to bad decisions.

- **Set strict stop-losses, never hold and hope:** For short-term trades, sell if it drops below the 5-day moving average. For mid-term holds, sell if it drops below the 20-day moving average. If you’re down 5%, just...