The most terrifying thing in the market is not losing money right away, but first making a profit once and then thinking you already understand it.

A few years ago, I received a new coin airdrop on Gate, I can't remember the coin's name now, but the heartbeat I felt while staring at my phone back then is unforgettable.

At that time, I noticed that some airdropped coins, when they first opened for trading, would spike rapidly within a few seconds and then quickly fall back. I thought I had found a pattern, prepared to buy at a low price at the open, and sell immediately after the surge.

Initially, I just wanted to test with a small amount of funds, but when I actually placed the order, I was so nervous that I almost bought all of my over two thousand US dollars. The price then really started to rise, and in just a few seconds, I was glued to the screen.

When I finally sold, I made three or four thousand US dollars.

That night, I wasn't as happy as I imagined; instead, I couldn't sleep for a long time. The money came so quickly that I felt uneasy, but the profit also quietly gave me an illusion—that I had truly mastered this method.

The second time I encountered a similar new coin, I almost didn't hesitate, but the price I bought at turned out to be the high point.

The price started to fall, and I kept refreshing the page. I knew I should sell, but I kept thinking it would rebound in the next second. It wasn't that I believed in it; I just didn't want to admit that I had bet on the wrong direction this time.

Every time the price slightly rose, I felt the opportunity was back; every time it continued to fall, I told myself to wait a bit longer. In the end, I closed my position with a loss of one or two thousand US dollars. Later, I made a few more similar trades, and the profit I earned the first time was slowly given back to the market.

That night, I couldn't sleep even more than the first time I made a profit. Feeling disappointed and self-blaming, I kept replaying in my mind: why didn't I set a stop-loss? Why did I treat that accidental success as a repeatable skill?

Later, I admitted that I didn't really understand that coin, nor did I have a solid trading logic. I only saw a few seconds of price patterns, ignoring liquidity, sentiment, and the unpredictable volatility at the opening of a new coin.

Gate was a platform I started using very early. Back then, people called it Sesame, and later it gradually became the Gate we know today. Its launch of new coins and hot projects was always very fast. For me in the early days, it was like a door full of opportunities.

In the past, when I opened Gate, my first glance was at the countdown for new coins and the top gainers; now I look at my position first, thinking about how much I can lose at most, and where I would exit if I was wrong.

I also set a simple rule for myself: no more full-position bets on trades I’m not confident in; if I don't have an exit plan, I don't buy.

Compared to betting on minute-by-minute price fluctuations, I now prefer to spend time analyzing the fundamentals of projects, market news, and whether the team is continuously building. The returns might be slower, but they are based on values I can understand, which makes me feel more at ease.

This trade didn't make me rich overnight, but it helped me distinguish between ability and luck for the first time.

The market first let me win once, then later told me in a more expensive way that there are no unbreakable rules—only an illusion of luck that hasn't yet been shattered.

This is my Gate trading moment.

‍#我的Gate交易时刻 @Gate__Square