Having immersed myself in the crypto world for many years, there's one memory I can never forget—the year 2017, the era when small altcoins were blooming wildly.

I bought $ADA, gradually accumulating from $0.03. Over just three months, it surged to $1.2. I watched the numbers in my account, nearly a 40x increase.

Back then, my first reaction every morning was to check the market. The zeros behind my assets kept increasing, and I started to truly imagine—this money could fully pay for a house in a first-tier city. That feeling was like a dream materializing.

But people, greed's nature is hard to overcome. I didn't press the sell button.

ADA turned around and plummeted off a cliff. It crashed back to $0.2. Unrealized gains vanished, 80% of the profit evaporated, and the dream of buying a house was shattered. That’s when I realized— in the crypto world, just buying is only the passing grade; the real winners are the masters of selling.

How much is this lesson worth? The price paid with real money.

**How I do take-profit—I’ve summarized it as a layered selling method**

Suppose a coin rises from $1 to $2. I sell 30% first. The benefit is that the principal is mostly recovered, and regardless of how the remaining position fluctuates, the psychological burden is lighter.

When it climbs further to $3, I sell another 30%. The remaining 40%? I set a trailing stop—if it drops 15% from the high, I close all positions. This way, I won't miss the main upward trend, nor will I watch profits collapse back.

**Regarding stop-loss—I am a hardcore type**

The loss on a single trade must never exceed 5% of the total principal. This line is non-negotiable. The moment I buy, I’ve already set a -10% stop-loss order. It’s like installing an emergency brake on every trade.

Will I miss rebound opportunities because of this? Yes. But the opportunities in crypto are explosive, and what’s truly scarce is the living principal. Once the principal is wiped out, you lose your ticket to comeback forever.

Over the years, I’ve seen too many stories—show-offs of overnight riches, but more often, corpses on the roller coaster. Those who can walk away with profits are never lucky; they are disciplined to the point of madness.

The market won’t come only once, but greed’s price is a lifetime.