That late-night candlestick looks like a needle, piercing through time.

In a rented room eight years ago, the screen flickered with a pale light. ETH surged from 1800 to 2400, and I poured all 8000U into it. The moment I pressed the buy button, my heartbeat became the soundtrack of the K-line.

Seven days of floating profit was 6000U. I lived on the edge of heaven and hell, turned off all take-profit alerts, and looped the thought "Sell at 3000" in my mind, unable to even notice the aroma of hotpot.

Then the Federal Reserve announced an interest rate hike. ETH dropped from 2400 back to 1900 within half a day, and the floating profit evaporated instantly, but I was still trapped by the illusion that "mainstream coins will inevitably rebound." In the end, my account balance settled at 3000U.

I crouched on the cold floor, nibbling on a cold pancake, finally realizing: no matter how mainstream the coin, it cannot compete with human greed.

I've paid this tuition more than once—bought an NFT for 15,000U that rose to 32,000U but couldn't bring myself to sell, finally cutting losses and leaving; during a BTC swing, I canceled my stop-loss and held on until my assets were halved. The harder I fell, the more I learned to forge the tools for survival.

**Diversification is a way to leave yourself an escape route**

35% of BTC stored in cold wallets, serving as a ballast through bull and bear markets. 45% invested in mainstream coins ETH and SOL, firmly avoiding altcoins. 20% kept as emergency funds, never fully deploying all capital. No matter how crazy the market, never bet everything on a single gamble.

**Real money is only realized when taking profits**

Floating profit is just a number on the screen; only realized gains are true wealth. Last year, ETH rose from 1900 to 2500. When my floating profit hit 120,000U, I immediately withdrew 42,000U to a fixed deposit. Later, ETH retraced to 2100. Seeing that profit already in my hands, I finally understood: numbers on the screen belong to the market, but what’s in the bank card belongs to me.

**Stop-loss is as necessary as breathing**

If a single loss exceeds 2%, I leave unconditionally; if monthly drawdown exceeds 5%, I take a forced break. I used to believe "mainstream coins are resilient," until I held on through a loss of 3000U and woke up. Now, stop-loss has become instinct—admitting small mistakes to avoid total disaster.

This market is never short of miracles. What’s most lacking is the person who crawls out of the abyss—those who remain clear-headed, without greed, without stubbornness, without impatience.