It took me eight years to increase the account balance from five digits to eight digits for #数字资产市场观察 .

Is there anything legendary to say about this? Not really. To be precise, it has been rubbed down by the market for eight years.

When the company went bankrupt in 2016, I rummaged through all my accounts and gathered fifty thousand yuan. It felt like standing on the edge of a cliff—jumping forward could mean certain death, while stepping back would be a slow starvation. At that time, there was only one thought in my mind: this little money in my hands would either be completely wiped out or I would fight for a way to survive. In the end, I gritted my teeth and invested it all in Bitcoin, eight coins at six thousand each. Looking back now, that wasn't an investment decision; it was clearly a gamble for my life.

The following days taught me the hardest lesson. When my account balance surged to 800,000 in 2017, I tossed and turned all night, thinking I was finally going to turn my life around. But when the bear market hit, it plummeted to 180,000. I sat in front of the screen in a daze, suddenly realizing a truth: those numbers on paper are not actually money; only what you sell and put in your pocket counts.

Since then, I've been honest. No more hot topics, explosive growth, or hundredfold coins. I only work on projects I can understand, and I pass on those I can't. To put it bluntly, this market is for those who understand the rules, not for gamblers looking to double their money.

In 2021, a meme coin skyrocketed, and I also took a small position. When it surged to 50%, I withdrew my principal, leaving the rest to do whatever it wanted. Later, that coin dropped by ninety percent, and I ended up making money off the profits. Is that considered skill? No, it's just called being afraid of losing.

There’s another rule I always abide by: I never get involved in projects I don't understand. During the IEO frenzy in 2019, I didn’t participate in any and avoided several pitfalls. However, before the Layer 2 concept gained traction in 2021, I researched SKALE six months in advance, which turned out to be a solid profit.

I really paid a price to learn about position control. Now I treat Bitcoin and Ethereum as ballast, with the majority of funds always in these two, while other projects are just embellishments. How stable is this strategy? The maximum drawdown in a bear market was only 12%—while others were lying on the floor, I could still continue to lay out my plans.

The market is in such a bad state now, with Bitcoin dropping from $126,000 to $94,000, and altcoins all plummeting. On the contrary, I am becoming more and more calm, because the reasoning is very simple: be less excited in a bull market, and stock up more in a bear market.

Those who can survive in this circle are those who have ingrained the rules into their bones. The market changes every day, but if you can't protect your capital and mindset, no matter how big the opportunity is, it has nothing to do with you.

I hope that when the next bull market arrives, you are not here to buy the dip, but to reap the rewards.