In early 2017, I liquidated my restaurant business at a loss. With the remaining 40,000 yuan, I endured three days in front of my trading software, and finally bought three Bitcoin at 12,000 yuan each in one go.

The market was like a roller coaster back then. By the end of 2017, it surged to 500,000 yuan, and I immediately ordered the necklace I had long wanted. The following year, it plummeted, and my account shrank to 120,000 yuan. That was when I truly understood what paper wealth means.

The real turning point came in 2021. I abandoned the strategy of chasing highs and selling lows, and shifted to crypto staking and NFTs, managing them steadily like tending an orchard. Over three years, my account gradually grew to 2 million yuan.

Having walked through pitfalls over nine years, I’ve summarized three key risk management principles:

**First: Capital preservation is the top priority.** In my early days, I followed the trend and invested in altcoins, earning 8 times the profit but never taking profits. In the end, I lost everything. Now, once I gain 40% profit, I withdraw all the principal, and the remaining profit is free to play with. No matter how big the correction, the principal remains safe.

**Second: Only profit from what I understand.** During the DeFi wave, I watched from the sidelines because I didn’t fully grasp the mining logic; in 2022, I heavily invested in ZK projects simply because I had read through a dozen technical documents three months in advance. Whitepapers, team backgrounds, economic models—if any aspect was vague, I would absolutely avoid it.

**Third: Position allocation is more critical than predicting the market.** Bitcoin and Ethereum make up 50% as the ballast, Layer2 projects 25%, new tracks 15%, and cash reserves 10%. No single coin’s holding exceeds 12%.

Anyone can make money in a bull market, but true skill shows in a bear market. I’ve seen too many contract traders double their money monthly or get liquidated overnight.

To exit profitably and steadily, in a bull market, you must control greed; in a bear market, you should stock up. Beginners should first practice on a simulated account for half a year to find their feel, then use idle funds for real trading.

These nine years of blood, sweat, and tears have taught me: steady profits are much more reliable than quick gains. Not losing money is the real win. Market opportunities will always come, but only by protecting your principal can you stay at the table.