As a newcomer to the crypto world, I want to share my most unforgettable trading experience recently.

Some time ago, seeing everyone around me discussing DOGE, I also followed the trend and bought some. During that period, I was in a loss-making state which made me suffer greatly. Until today, a sudden surge occurred, and my profit skyrocketed to over 800 USD. Excited but not yet reacting, within just a few minutes, my paper gains dropped to around 500 USD. At that moment, my mind went blank, and panic took over instantly. I didn’t do any analysis and just completely cleared my position. Although I ended up making some money in the end, that heart-stopping feeling is something I never want to experience again in my life.

After this experience, I started reflecting on the essence of meme coins like DOGE. Honestly, these coins lack any real application or value support; their prices are entirely driven by market sentiment and capital forces. When whales decide to pump, retail investors follow; when the big players decide to dump, newbies collectively run for cover. Our biggest disadvantage as beginners is information and experience gaps — our ability to judge the market is still in the exploration stage, and in the face of extreme volatility, we are even more helpless. The result is being blinded by FOMO during rapid rises and controlled by fear during sharp declines, leading to panic selling.

What’s more heartbreaking is that the meme coin field has long become a classic cycle of "pump and dump." Big players can easily manipulate price trends by controlling trading volume and liquidity, while we retail investors are often the carefully designed harvest targets. Just thinking about it gives me chills.

So my advice is: instead of gambling with luck on highly volatile assets like DOGE, it’s better to spend time learning the basics of the market, understanding the risk levels of different assets, and establishing your own investment framework. Preserving your principal is always more important than chasing quick profits. Especially for beginners, steadily accumulating experience and choosing relatively stable directions is the wisdom for long-term survival in the crypto space.