I have a friend who just entered the crypto world not long ago. One day, he excitedly came to me holding a string of unfamiliar code, saying that this coin is about to be listed on top-tier exchanges, and buying now would definitely lead to huge profits. I looked at the project on the screen, something I had never heard of, and could only smile bitterly. Isn't this exactly how I was two years ago?

In fact, every day new codes are born in the crypto space, and every year new wealth myths are woven. But when it comes to who makes money and who loses, most people still play the role of losers.

On the surface, everyone's blueprint for getting rich looks like this: find potential coins at the bottom → buy at low prices → wait for hundredfold increases → sell at high points → achieve financial freedom. It sounds perfect.

But the reality? The true path for most people is actually like this: see a rise and chase in → get trapped and fall into a sharp decline → can't resist cutting losses and fleeing → can't resist chasing the rise again → leverage up and bet bigger → finally get liquidated → end up in debt. How bad is this cycle? Anyone who has experienced it knows.

Why is there such a big gap? The answer is actually very cruel. Projects that truly increase a hundredfold often require starting to position and deeply researching the project's fundamentals one or two years in advance. Ask yourself, how many people around you can really do that? Most people just listen to stories, look at charts, and follow the trend into the market.

**Those alluring illusions of getting rich**

The most expensive cost in the crypto world is people's obsession with the words "getting rich." Every time you open a late-night chat group, you see some carefully selected local bull market charts—those curves are so steep, like some kind of spell, seducing every speculator.

A little-known project token suddenly surges by five hundred percent. An ordinary college student achieves financial freedom with their living expenses. These beautified wealth legends are essentially carefully designed cognitive traps.

I've seen too many such cases. The manipulative tactics of the whales are actually quite fixed: first, create a wave of rise to attract attention → generate a wealth effect to lure retail investors into following → retail investors driven by FOMO buy in crazily → whales quietly sell at high points → finally, harvest is completed.

Do you remember that animal-themed project? In three months, it went from zero to a market cap of over ten billion. It seemed like a miracle. But what was the ending of that miracle? The founding team quietly sold off, the project's value instantly plummeted to zero, leaving hundreds of thousands of accounts being harvested.

**Cognition is the real dividing line**

So, ultimately, the biggest divide between the rich and the poor in the crypto world is never about luck or late entry, but about the gap in cognition.

Those who keep making money often understand one principle: investing requires long-term thinking, not gambling. They study the actual value of projects, pay attention to team backgrounds, observe market cycles, rather than being dazzled by a beautiful K-line chart.

In contrast, most people losing money are stuck in the same vicious cycle: expecting miracles, chasing hot topics, being driven by emotions, and finally getting harvested.

So next time someone excitedly asks you about a certain coin, saying it’s about to rise ten times, you’d better be clear in your mind: those widely discussed stories of getting rich are precisely where the highest risks are. True opportunities never appear only when you discover them.