“Understanding the market doesn’t mean you can make money—a financial professional’s ups and downs in the crypto world”

Many people, after entering the crypto space, develop a misconception: the more they think they know, the higher the odds they will make money. Some believe their technical analysis skills are excellent; others think they’re well-informed; still others believe that with years of investing experience, they must be more likely than ordinary people to seize opportunities. But those who have truly experienced the market know that it never gives special treatment to you because of your identity, education, or past achievements. The fan I’m sharing today is 42 years old this year and has worked in the finance industry for over 10 years. He has come across various investment products and studied how the market changes across different cycles. In the eyes of others, he should be one of the people who understands investing the most. Yet after entering crypto, he still went through a deep lesson—and only after that experience did he truly understand that the biggest opponent in trading is never the market, but oneself.

He said, “In the past, I thought that if I knew financial knowledge, I could understand the market. Later I realized that the market’s biggest challenge isn’t analysis—it’s controlling yourself.”

When he was younger, he entered the finance industry. Due to his profession, he was exposed to investing earlier than ordinary people and has long followed changes in global markets. Stocks, funds, macroeconomics—these have all been part of his daily research. After years of work, he accumulated some investing experience and formed his own framework for judgment.

In traditional finance, he always believed that cognition is the most important thing in investing.

If you can see information others can’t, and understand logic others can’t, you have a bigger advantage.

So when digital assets gradually entered the mainstream, he also began paying attention to this emerging market.

At first, he didn’t enter with the goal of making money. He studied it from the perspective of industry development.

He believed that the future financial system would definitely keep digitizing, and blockchain technology might change many traditional models.

So he began to deeply understand Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the development logic of the entire crypto market.

He said, “When I first started researching, I was mostly looking at the issue from an industry perspective, and I wasn’t thinking about making quick money off it.”

His first windfall came from both real-world accumulation and market opportunities.

In reality, through years of work in the finance industry, he had accumulated some assets and built his own investment system.

In crypto, he chose to position BTC, ETH, and other major assets. This wasn’t blindly chasing hot trends; instead, he configured his positions gradually within the scope of what he understood.

Later, when the market rose, he also enjoyed the gains brought by the market, and his account balance grew noticeably.

During that period, it was the first time he felt the explosive power of the digital asset market.

Traditional investing might take years—if not more—to accumulate, but in crypto, a single cycle can lead to huge changes in wealth.

And it was precisely after making money that he started to gradually change.

For many people, the biggest danger in the market isn’t that they can’t make money—it’s that after they make money, they start believing they can’t be wrong.

He was the same.

Because of his years of experience in the finance industry, he gradually developed a kind of confidence.

He thought he understood macro, understood fund flows, and understood market cycles—so after entering crypto, he should have an edge over ordinary investors.

When he first started trading contracts, he indeed made some money.

After a few times of getting his judgment right, he became even more convinced.

He began to think that market走势 could actually be predicted.

Before the rally, he believed he could call it in advance.

Before the drop, he believed he could avoid it in advance.

Slowly, trading stopped being just an investment and turned into a game of proving himself.

He said, “At that time, the biggest problem wasn’t wanting to make money—it was believing that I couldn’t be wrong.”

Then later, a sudden shift happened in the market.

The market direction completely deviated from his expectations.

Trades he had planned ahead started going into loss because he didn’t stop losses in time.

According to his previous investing habits, he should have controlled risk.

But at that moment, he chose to trust his own judgment.

He thought the market was only temporarily adjusting and that the price would surely come back.

So he kept adjusting his position size, and even increased his risk exposure.

The result was that the market didn’t develop the way he wanted.

One wrong call caused a significant drawdown in his account funds.

Only at that moment did he truly realize that the so-called past experience wasn’t a protective umbrella in front of the market.

He said, “The hardest thing isn’t the loss itself, but realizing that what I lost to wasn’t the market—it's my arrogance.”

During that time, he re-examined his trading approach.

Before, he believed that great traders should have the ability to accurately judge the market.

Later, he understood that truly excellent traders aren’t predicting the future—they have response plans for different scenarios.

The market always contains the unknown.

No one can precisely predict every rise and fall.

What really matters is whether, when your judgment is wrong, you can still stay intact.

After starting over, he built new trading discipline.

First, he no longer trades with full position.

Previously, when he saw an opportunity, he thought about the upside potential.

Now, when he sees an opportunity, he first considers the risk.

Because any trade is only a probability event.

Second, he no longer fixates on predicting tops and bottoms.

Before, he liked guessing when the market would top out and when it would bottom out.

Later, he found that many of his losses came from his subjective judgment.

Before the market truly plays out, no one knows the answer.

So now it’s more about following the trend rather than forcing predictions.

Third, control emotions.

He said, “In trading, the hardest thing to control isn’t the price—it’s your own mind.”

When making money, people easily become greedy.

When losing money, people easily become impatient.

Many people aren’t lacking opportunities to make money—they can’t stay calm.

After readjusting, he slowly regained his own rhythm.

Now, his financial situation is stable again, and investing has become part of his long-term wealth plan.

He no longer chases sudden riches in the short term, nor will he change his plan just because the market rallies.

For him now, investing is more like a long-term process of accumulation.

In the future, he hopes to keep learning about market changes, continuously improve his investment system, and make wealth grow sustainably.

He said, “Before, I thought trading is about who can see it right. Now I think trading is about who can live long.”

Actually, many people in crypto have similar experiences.

When they first enter the market, they all feel there are plenty of opportunities.

When they make money, they think they found the pattern.

After they suffer losses, they realize that what truly needs to improve isn’t prediction ability, but risk management ability.

Position size determines whether you can withstand volatility.

Stop-losses determine whether you can face your mistakes.

Emotional control determines whether you can stay in the market long-term.

The market is always stronger than the individual. A truly mature trader isn’t someone who never makes mistakes—it’s someone who can adjust quickly after making mistakes.

If you’re also feeling lost in crypto right now, having experienced both profits and losses, don’t rush to search for some so-called wealth password.

First, make yourself a person with stronger discipline.

Because the prerequisite for wealth growth is that you can stay at the table for the long run.

In our team, many traders have been through bull and bear cycles. We exchange market logic together, review and break down trading problems together, and improve our understanding together.

There’s no so-called method that guarantees you always win and never lose. What we do is help everyone take fewer detours and build their own trading mindset.

The market always rewards the calm. And the people who can truly make it to the end don’t rely on luck—they rely on discipline.