From eating instant noodles in two meals to an eight-digit account: My survival guide in the crypto world after getting liquidated three times.
The crypto world in 2017 was at its peak of frenzy. I jumped in with 50,000 U, my mind filled with fantasies of "getting rich overnight." But reality gave me a harsh slap in the face. In just four years, I experienced three brutal Get Liquidated events. At my lowest point, I had to split a pack of instant noodles into two meals. The feeling of being brutally rubbed into the ground by the market still haunts me to this day.
On the day of the "3·12" crash in 2020, I watched helplessly as my account balance plummeted, my finger hovering indecisively over the liquidation button. It was this unexpected hesitation that allowed me to avoid the dire fate of complete loss and made me see the brutal truth of the crypto world clearly: here, staying alive is always more important than making money.
Over the years in the crypto world, I have seen too many fleeting "trading geniuses". Some have turned a 2000 yuan capital into a scale of tens of millions, only to be forced liquidated in a high-leverage gamble, returning to square one overnight; some firmly believed they had caught the market bottom, constantly averaging down and increasing their positions, only to realize they were merely halfway up the hill, watching their assets continuously shrink. The reason I have survived one crisis after another is not due to any unique talent, but rather a set of "foolish methods" earned through real money and hard-earned lessons.
A market with a sharp rise and slow decline is the poison that harvests retail investors. During the 2018 bull market, a certain altcoin suddenly surged by 300% within 10 minutes, and the group instantly erupted with messages of "getting on board" and "going all in." But I resisted the impulse to follow the trend, and sure enough, this token dropped back to its original point within three days. This typical "fishing line" trend is designed to trap retail investors who chase after price increases and sell during declines. Later, I concluded a pattern: the real top often appears during the consolidation phase after a breakout with high volume, rather than in the moment of a sharp rise.
The rebound after the flash crash seems like an opportunity but is actually a blade tip licking blood. In 2019, a certain platform coin suddenly plummeted 70%, followed by a slow rebound of 20% over the next three days. At that time, I also considered bottom-fishing, but after careful observation, I found that the trading volume continued to shrink during the rebound - this was clearly the prelude to a "guillotine." I decisively gave up the operation, and as a result, on the fourth day after the market opened, this token was directly halved, and those who bottom-fished were again deeply trapped.
The market's silence at high levels is more frightening than a crash. Two weeks before the LUNA collapse in 2022, the entire market was unusually calm, with trading volume shrinking to 1/5 of the usual, and the candlestick chart looked like a dying straight line. At that time, many so-called "analysts" were still promoting it as a "technical adjustment," urging everyone to hold firm. But I chose to liquidate my holdings based on my intuition, ultimately avoiding that catastrophic collapse. Remember, the true peak never screams or is fervent; it is only as silent as still water.
Be cautious of volume at the bottom; sustained volume is the real signal. In 2023, when Bitcoin was in a long-term sideways trend, there was a day when it suddenly surged by 10%, and the community was instantly buzzing with everyone shouting "the bull market is here." But I did not rush in; instead, I patiently waited for the confirmation signal of sustained weekly trading volume. It was this patience that allowed me to successfully avoid the subsequent false breakout traps and enter accurately when the real trend arrived.
Now, the amount in my account has exceeded eight figures, but what is more precious than wealth is the "anti-human" thinking that I have honed over the years in the market. I have set myself a strict trading discipline: always only invest funds that I can afford to lose entirely, and always maintain a 30% cash position to deal with emergencies; before each trade, I must set the stop-loss line in advance and never harbor a sense of luck; establish a detailed trading checklist, and before buying, I must confirm that all 12 core indicators meet the standards; dedicate fixed time each week for review, and seriously analyze every operation that violates the trading rules.
The crypto world has never had any myths; those stories of getting rich that are often talked about are just isolated cases under survivor bias, and there are many more remnants that have been eliminated by the market. If you also want to survive in this cruel jungle, the first thing you must learn is to respect the market. Because here, there is never a shortage of the next Get Liquidated story, and what we can do is to ensure that we are never the main character.