I just rewrote a guide on trading coins for friends, and I found there are many things that need clarification, so I decided to share it here.

Trading coins is not gambling as many people think. It is a problem of probability analysis, crowd psychology, and capital flow. You buy at a low price, sell at a high price — that’s simple. But to do this, you need to prepare thoroughly.

First is capital. The golden rule: only invest the amount of money you are willing to lose without affecting your life. No borrowing, no pawning assets. Crypto is extremely volatile; an asset can increase by 20% or decrease by 30% in just a few hours.

Next is psychology. You will face two monsters: FOMO (fear of missing out) which makes you chase when prices are already high, and FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) which causes panic selling at the bottom. That’s why trading guides always emphasize discipline over skill.

Getting started is quite simple. Choose a reputable exchange — the place that holds your assets. Create an account, verify your identity (KYC), then deposit money. In Vietnam, the best way is to use P2P to buy USDT (stablecoin). Remember not to note “crypto” or “bitcoin” when transferring money to avoid bank blocks.

After you have USDT, you can start trading. There are two basic order types: Market (buy/sell immediately) and Limit (buy/sell at your set price). For beginners, Limit is safer because you control the price.

But placing an order only takes 1 minute. The hard part is knowing at what price to set it. That’s when you need to learn to read charts. Each candlestick represents the struggle between buyers and sellers. Green candle = close price higher than open (buyers win), red candle = opposite.

Two important concepts: Support is a price zone below, where buyers concentrate — when the price drops here, it often bounces back. Resistance is a price zone above, where sellers wait to unload — when the price hits this level, it often gets pushed down. Never chase after the price when it’s rising. Be patient and wait for the price to return to these key zones.

Regarding indicators, I only use three: RSI (measures momentum), MA (identifies trend), and Volume (trading volume). Rising price with high volume indicates sustainable growth. Rising price with shrinking volume is a fake-out. Never use too many indicators at once, as it will paralyze your analysis.

For portfolio allocation, I use a 70-20-10 ratio. 70% in Bitcoin and Ethereum (safe, deep liquidity). 20% in promising altcoins like Solana or Layer 2 projects. 10% in memecoins or low-cap coins (high risk but potential x10, x50 returns). Never go all-in on one coin, no matter how cheap it is.

The biggest mistake beginners make: using 50x or 100x leverage on Futures. That’s how you burn money. Stick to Spot trading for at least the first year. If you want to hold long-term, don’t keep everything on the exchange — withdraw to a cold wallet (Hardware Wallet). “Not your keys, not your coins.”

Finally, a trading guide is never complete without mentioning this: never trust groups promising guaranteed profits of x10, x20, or investment pooling for anyone. Financial analysis is a personal story based on independent data.

Regarding legality in Vietnam: currently, crypto is not recognized as legal tender, but owning or trading as a personal digital asset is not prohibited. Transaction fees on major exchanges are about 0.1% for both Maker and Taker, even cheaper if using the exchange’s native token.

Remember, over 80% of beginners lose money not because of poor technical analysis, but because of violating basic survival principles: no capital management, no emotional control, going all-in on junk projects. Trading is a marathon, not a sprint. Be slow, patient, and always remember: past performance does not guarantee future results.