Crypto Veteran's Heartfelt Words — From Losing Everything to Only Wearing Underwear, to Turning Around and Making $20 Million

In mid-2014, I threw in all my savings of $50k, just like you, dreaming of getting rich overnight every day. At that time, the bull market was crazy, and I dared to hold full positions in all kinds of altcoins and trash chains. My account once surged to $150k, staring at my phone with a silly smile, truly believing I was a genius trader. But when the bear market hit in 2018, the coins in my hands plummeted—30% drop in a day, halved in a week, and in the end, only $10k remained. That period, I was truly left with nothing but my underwear.

After two years of hiding away, I devoured white papers like crazy and gradually learned some things. By 2020, during the DeFi boom, I used $10k to buy the dip in several decentralized exchanges, and when it grew to $1 million, I decisively took profits and ran. This experience taught me one principle — the market only cares about those who are prepared; it only gives money to those ready.

In 2021, during the NFT craze, I tested the waters with monkey profile pictures, earning a little and then selling. Later, I went all-in on Axie Infinity, and in three months, my account skyrocketed to $5 million. Starting in 2022, I began dollar-cost averaging into Bitcoin and Ethereum, combined with swing trading, and now my holdings comfortably stand at $20 million.

But what I want to tell you isn’t these glamorous stories, but a real insight — there are no absolute winners or losers in crypto, only those who keep adjusting through cognitive iteration.

Some people make their first fortune with disciplined strategies but get wiped out by black swan events; others buy coins on hype and lose everything, then calm down and find their own rhythm. I’ve seen technical analysis done perfectly, yet it can’t withstand sudden policy changes; I’ve also seen strict stop-loss execution still wiped out by extreme market conditions. The market’s complexity lies here — technique, mentality, timing, and even a bit of luck are all parts of the puzzle.

Regarding technique, the most practical method I’ve used over the years is a simple, straightforward approach — the Pinbar trading strategy. You don’t need to memorize complex pattern names; just look for two types of candlestick patterns: shooting stars and hammer candles.

A shooting star looks like this — long upper shadow, very small real body; a hammer is the opposite — long lower shadow, very small real body. The key is that the shadow length must be more than twice the real body; otherwise, it’s a false signal. Over the years, my win rate with Pinbars has been stable at around 90%, as long as the placement is correct.

A shooting star must appear at the very top of an upward wave, and a hammer must appear at the very bottom of a downward wave, especially at key support or resistance levels. If the placement is wrong, even the perfect Pinbar is useless. I’ve tested this on Bitcoin, Ethereum, other coins, and even stocks and futures — this method is truly universal.

Once you find an effective Pinbar, how do you enter? There are two ways. One is to break through the signal level directly for entry, with a stop-loss on the opposite side of the signal; the other is to wait for a retracement to 50% of the signal before entering. The profit-taking logic is simple — the risk-reward ratio should be greater than 1:1.5, and you should at least capture the range from the Pinbar’s high to low.

As long as you strictly follow a 1:1.5 risk-reward ratio over the long term, a 40% win rate can guarantee profits, not to mention that Pinbars give you about a 90% win rate. But there’s a prerequisite — never look for Pinbars just for trading; otherwise, you’ll find a bunch of false signals, 80% of which are scams. Reduce trading frequency — better to do 1-2 trades a week than to trade recklessly.

Of course, there’s no holy grail in the market, and this Pinbar method can also fail, so entering trades involves risk, and stop-losses must be strict. But for beginners, it’s really enough.

Ultimately, the most taboo thing in crypto is black-and-white judgments. Today’s rookie might be tomorrow’s potential, and arrogance often precedes a crash. The market is fair to everyone, giving each person the chance to make mistakes and the space to correct them. Those who go far are not always the right ones, but those who can stand tall amid mistakes.

Just like diligent fishermen wouldn’t go out to sea in a storm but would carefully protect their boats, waiting for sunny days. Seasons always pass, and going with the flow is the way to a smooth life. If you want to study trading techniques, there are many coins on Gate worth paying attention to — take a look at the market when you have the chance. Remember these, keep them in mind.