Five years of ups and downs in the crypto world, I’ve learned three ironclad rules with real money, and I want to share them with you today.

Back in 2018, I was living in a small rented room in Shenzhen, watching Bitcoin rise steadily. At that time, I used 300,000 yuan of capital to trade futures, and it grew to nearly 3 million. I truly believed that the crypto world could change my fate, and that I could rely on it for life.

But what happened? Three days later, the market crashed. By Christmas, my account was down to less than 600,000. That moment made me realize—"Waiting a bit longer to break even" is the most toxic chicken soup in the crypto world.

**First Ironclad Rule: Leverage is a double-edged sword, not wings**

I once traded Ethereum with 20x leverage, earning 400,000 yuan in a day without blinking. But during the "519" market crash in 2021, 60,000 yuan was wiped out in just two hours. After this bloody lesson, I set a strict rule for myself: leverage no more than 3x, and no more than 5% of my total holdings in a single coin.

Leverage is ruthless; if the market moves against you, it will cut you. If it moves in your favor, it can slip away. Don’t treat it as flying wings; it’s essentially a blade that can turn against you at any moment.

**Second Ironclad Rule: Don’t look for family heirlooms in the casino**

I also heavily invested in a so-called "domestic Ethereum," putting in 250,000 yuan, which rose to 1.5 million at its peak, and I couldn’t bring myself to sell. Guess what? It plummeted to $0.001, almost wiping out my account. After that, I changed my strategy: allocate 85% of my funds to Bitcoin and Ethereum, and the remaining 15% to altcoins.

Most projects in the crypto world are just fireworks—brilliant for a few seconds, then gone in darkness.

**Third Ironclad Rule: Stop-loss is dignity**

Now, I set a strict 8% stop-loss on every trade. When it hits, I walk away—no luck involved. Before placing each order, I ask myself: after my account is wiped out, can I still calmly enjoy hotpot? If I can’t answer yes, then I must stop-loss.

The crypto world isn’t short of opportunities; what’s lacking is enough capital to survive until those opportunities come. I’ve crawled out of these blood and tears, holding a "survival lamp" in my hand. And this lamp keeps shining.