Having traded cryptocurrencies for a year, is your account consistently in the red or green? If you're still stumbling through trial and error, perhaps my eight years of experience navigating pitfalls can offer you some guidance.

From initial frequent margin calls and being caught in positions, to gradually finding your rhythm, my account ultimately achieved over 50 million in cumulative gains. This journey has given me more than just numbers; it has built a comprehensive system of understanding market dynamics, psychology, and risk control.

If there's a key to breakthrough, it’s these ten insights — each proven through real money.

**1. Keep your principal under 100,000 and don’t think about full positions**

This is a common mistake among retail traders. When the market moves, they have no capital left. Once the main upward wave begins, catching just one move can yield a year's worth of returns. The key is to have enough patience before the market kicks off. Many people can't endure this waiting period and end up being forced out.

**2. Your cognition sets your profit ceiling**

This might sound obvious, but it’s critical. Before trading live, practice enough in demo accounts to build your mindset and courage. Demo trading allows unlimited failures, but one major mistake in real trading could end your game. Mental preparation is more important than you think.

**3. If there’s no volume breakout on good news that day, consider exiting**

A rule of thumb: if significant positive news doesn’t come with enough volume to push prices higher on the release day, the probability of a big gap up the next day is high — selling your holdings at that point is often the right move. Greed here can easily trap you.

**4. Have defensive awareness before holidays**

Historical data shows that strategies like reducing or completely clearing positions before holidays have never failed. The uncertainty around holidays is too great. Instead of gambling on a move, it’s better to stay flat and wait. It’s not cowardice; it’s about surviving longer in the face of risk.

**5. The core of medium- to long-term trading is maintaining flexibility**

Don’t expect to ride a single wave all the way. That’s a game for market makers and big players. The right approach is to keep enough cash, reduce positions at highs, add at lows, and use rolling adjustments to average costs. This way, you can participate in rallies and also avoid risks.

**6. Only trade coins with high activity and volatility on short-term basis**

Avoid coins with dull trading volume. If you can’t make quick profits, you’ll just waste time watching the charts. Choose assets with good liquidity and active technical setups, so stop-losses can be executed and profits can run.

**7. How a market declines determines the strength of the rebound**

A slow, gradual decline tends to produce a frustrating rebound, with small recoveries tempting more longs. But if the decline accelerates, the bounce can come back quickly. Recognizing this rhythm is key for short-term trading.

**8. Admit mistakes and cut losses immediately**

This is the simplest rule but also the one most poorly executed. As long as your principal remains, another opportunity always exists. Being stubborn over small losses often leads to bigger ones. Survival always comes first.

**9. Keep an eye on the market with 15-minute K-line charts**

Using indicators like KDJ in combination can help you identify many golden buy and sell points. You don’t need to master every technical detail, but this combo is enough to handle most short-term fluctuations.

**10. Master one skill and stick to it; avoid greed in learning too many**

There are thousands of trading systems, but you can’t master them all. Specialize in one or two methods, perfect them, and they will serve you better than knowing a little about everything but mastering nothing. That’s my final advice.

Each of these ten insights is backed by real money. Avoiding unnecessary detours is essentially making money. Although liquidity in the crypto market has improved, risks and opportunities always coexist. Mindset and discipline are the fundamentals for long-term survival.