In the crypto market, I've seen too many people fall into the same trap.

Last year, a friend came to me with his account already wiped out with a loss of 150,000 U, leaving only 10,000 U still struggling to hold on. This wasn't his first time losing money over the same issue; in fact, he'd repeated it several times. I reviewed his trading records, and the scene was exhausting to watch: chasing highs and selling lows, going all-in on a single trade, holding on stubbornly after losses. This is a typical rookie logic.

I told him to pause trading for a week and do one thing—review every losing trade thoroughly. When the results came back, we were both shocked: 90% of the losses came from two reasons—being too impulsive during trading and having virtually no stop-loss awareness.

Five months later, he not only recovered his losses but also made a net profit of 50,000 U. The methods he used during this process may seem "simple," but they are truly effective. Today, I want to share these methods—not as secret tricks, but as three straightforward yet effective trading disciplines.

**First Trick: Lock Impulses—Enforce a Hard Stop-Loss Line**

The simple rule I set for him was: no single trade should lose more than 5% of the principal, and the maximum daily loss is 10%. In other words, even if he gets ten trades wrong in a row, he still has a chance to recover and won't be wiped out by one bad trade.

It sounds easy, but actually doing it is much harder. Because human nature is like this—after losing, we always think "wait a bit, maybe it will rebound," but small losses often turn into a wipeout. I told him to write this rule on a sticky note and stick it next to his computer; every time he places an order, he must glance at it.

I often say: surviving longer in the crypto market is a thousand times more important than making quick profits. The secret to longevity is simple—strictly control individual trade losses and never let the account spiral out of control.

**Second Trick: Position Matters More Than Direction—Key Level Trading**

Many people spend all their energy trying to predict whether the market will go up or down, but in reality, choosing the right position is the real dividing line. I teach him to trade at key levels: buy at support levels, reduce positions at resistance levels.

How to find these levels? Look for obvious historical highs and lows, combined with current market sentiment. For example, if ETH repeatedly touches a certain price point, that’s a key level. Trading at these points tends to have a higher win rate.

His previous problem was this—seeing the market rise quickly, he rushed in, only to buy at the high. After changing his approach, his success rate jumped from 30% to nearly 70%. With the same capital, different positioning makes a huge difference in results.

**Third Trick: Mindset Management—Trading Journal and Cooling-Off Period**

Emotional trading is the biggest killer in the crypto market. I always ask him to keep a trading journal, noting why he entered a trade, what his target was, and how it actually turned out. Review it weekly to identify recurring mistakes.

Another key habit—when losing money, stop immediately and take at least a four-hour break. Do something else during this time—take a walk, drink some water, and wait until your mind cools down before looking at the charts again. Many people lose more because they get anxious and impulsive.

**Summary**

In five months, he went from having only 10,000 U left in his account to turning losses into a profit of 50,000 U. It wasn’t because he suddenly became smarter or because the market was especially good; it was because he strictly followed discipline. Stop-loss isn’t about avoiding losses; it’s about surviving longer. Position isn’t about making quick money; it’s about increasing win probability. Mindset management isn’t just motivational talk—it’s about letting rationality beat greed.

In the crypto market, you can’t compare yourself to others in terms of intelligence, but you can definitely compare who has stricter discipline. That’s the survival logic.