2025-12-31 11:23:37

Having experience in traditional finance as well as in the crypto world, I have seen too many people turn their fortunes overnight, and also too many go bankrupt in a single night. Recently, a friend's experience moved me a bit: a guy who didn't even understand candlestick charts played with $1,800 and turned it into $210,000 in three months, all without using leverage contracts. This sounds like a fairy tale, but in reality, it’s backed by a set of disciplined rules that are hard to stick to.

If I have something to say, I’ll be straightforward: the crypto space looks like a casino, no doubt, but it’s not just simple, reckless gambling—serious winners have long learned to turn the casino’s rules to their advantage.

**The appearance of the casino: madness and disillusionment coexist**

There is indeed a gambling spirit in crypto. Here are a few examples: liquidations have become commonplace. Some people gamble with 100x leverage; when their accounts soar, adrenaline surges, but once the market moves against them, they’re wiped out instantly. The LUNA coin in 2022 plummeted 99 overnight, with 400,000 people liquidated collectively, and hundreds of billions of dollars vanished in an instant.

Market manipulation is everywhere. Exchanges fake trading volumes through wash trading, big influencers pump and dump to trap retail investors, Trump-themed coins soared 400 times in a day, then dropped 60%, leaving retail investors basically pinned on the chopping block.

Market volatility stimulates young people’s speculative nerves. When they can’t grasp the housing market, they turn to crypto for a shot at changing their fate. The anxiety to turn things around is overwhelming, but instead, many fall into the nihilism of finance.

However, if you only see the casino side of things, that’s too one-sided. Bitcoin is now legal tender in El Salvador, and the US has even included it in its strategic reserves. Stablecoins have become hard currencies to fight inflation in Argentina and Turkey. The contradiction lies here: on the surface, it looks like a casino, but underneath, it’s the accumulation of real technology.

**The way ordinary people live: discipline is always more effective than luck**

The reason my friend was able to turn $1,800 into $210,000 is not complicated—strict stop-loss and take-profit rules, position management, and emotional control. Without leverage, he relied on the power of compound interest and the discipline to execute without being driven by emotions.

LUNA11,02%

TRUMP-2,09%

BTC-0,54%

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ZKProofEnthusiast

· 6h ago

1800 to 210,000, the key is still not using leverage... That's true intelligence. Most people just can't control that desire. --- I personally watched a few friends' accounts go to zero during that LUNA wave. I'm still eating dirt now, so I basically don't touch leverage anymore. --- Taking profit and stop-loss sound easy, but who can stick to it when it's time to make money? Anyway, I can't do it; it's too hard. --- The difference between winners in the crypto world and gamblers is—one relies on discipline, the other on luck. The problem is most people want to gamble. --- The power of compound interest is indeed impressive, but the premise is living long enough. If you don't reach that day of compound interest, everything is pointless. --- My friend doesn't even trade futures but still plays like this, which shows someone truly understands this game. I'm still exploring. --- Sticking to taking profit is much harder than not cutting losses. When prices rise, you want to wait a bit longer. That psychological barrier is the hardest.

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SignatureLiquidator

· 6h ago

1800U to 210,000, this guy is really ruthless. Discipline is easy to talk about but hard to stick to. Speaking of which, the crypto world just lacks these old guys who don't play with leverage; everyone else is going crazy with 100x. I was also involved in that LUNA wave, watched a friend go from 1 million directly to zero with my own eyes. Now I hardly talk about coins anymore. I don't deny there's a gambling streak, but truly making money depends on taking profits, cutting losses, and maintaining the right mindset. Most failures come from greed. The power of compound interest is indeed formidable; it all depends on who can endure those painful moments without panicking.

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VibesOverCharts

· 6h ago

From 1,800 to 210,000, the key is that no leverage was used. This is truly incredible. Most people just die from greed. Taking profits and cutting losses sounds simple, but in practice it's hell. I've seen too many people start fantasizing after doubling a coin, only to end up losing everything and even getting burned. That wave of LUNA indeed shattered many people's retirement dreams. Some are still talking about that period, their eyes are empty. Relying on time to accumulate compound interest without leverage may sound dull, but it might really be the most stable way to live. That's how the crypto world is. Winners and losers look at the same chart; the difference is whether they have discipline. You really have to be ruthless when sticking to stop-losses. Many people fall because of the phrase "I'll just wait." Most people probably can't think that far ahead. They want to buy and sell quickly, unable to wait for time to do its work.

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ChainProspector

· 6h ago

To be honest, I do believe in the jump from 1800 to 210,000, but I don't believe in luck. What I believe in is that it's truly rare to find someone who can treat themselves like a machine. The words "take profit and stop loss" sound easy, but those who can truly follow discipline every time would have already achieved financial freedom.

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