# To Be Honest: A Zeroed-Out Account Is Ten Thousand Times Scarier Than Unrealized Losses

If you've been in the space for less than a year and your starting capital is just a few thousand, take my advice.

The cruelest thing in this market isn't losing 20% today and another 15% tomorrow; it's waking up one day to find your account completely wiped out, with nothing left to get back on your feet. I've seen too many people—one moment flaunting their trades in a group chat, the next moment vanishing without a trace, gone from the scene forever.

When I first started, I was just as naive. With $20,000 in capital, my head was full of get-rich-quick stories. I envied others' profits, chased every tip, got greedy when prices went up, and panicked when they dropped. After a round of reckless moves, my account balance was cut in half.

Later, after hitting rock bottom, I forced myself to calmly review my mistakes. I spent a whole month breaking down every failed trade and finally understood the problem—it wasn't bad luck, it was a total lack of risk awareness.

Since then, I made three hard rules for myself. Honestly, these three rules saved my life. In four months, I grew my remaining $10,000+ to over $100,000—and most importantly, I never got liquidated once.

# Rule 1: Never Use More Than Half Your Capital

No matter how tempting an opportunity looks, I never go all in.

Why? Because there will always be another opportunity in this market, but once your capital is gone, it's really gone. Keeping half in cash means you can add to your positions when the market is right, or cut your losses and withdraw when it’s wrong. As long as you’re still in the game, you have a future.

Many people think "dividing your capital is wasting opportunities." Bro, the real waste is the capital you’ll never get back after going all in and losing.

# Rule 2: Set Take-Profit and Stop-Loss Levels in Advance

You need to be ruthless when losing—cut your losses when you have to. When you're winning, hold your ground and don’t always think, "Let me wait a bit longer."

The biggest rookie mistake is wishful thinking. When prices drop, you hope "they’ll bounce back." When they rise, you wonder "how much higher can it go?" The result? All your profits vanish, or a small loss becomes a big one—eventually leading to liquidation.

Now, before every trade, I set my take-profit and stop-loss points in advance. If they're hit, I exit. No hesitation. This isn’t cowardice—it’s professionalism.

# Rule 3: Only Touch Projects You Understand

Social group tips, big influencer recommendations, viral short videos—nine out of ten are traps.

Before copying a trade, ask yourself: What does this project actually do? What’s the logic? Is the team reliable? If you can’t figure out the fundamentals, why risk your hard-earned money?

I’d rather miss a hundred moonshots than touch a single project I don’t understand. Your capital is your lifeblood—don’t gamble with your life.

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At the end of the day, losing money in this market isn’t because you aren’t working hard enough, or because you’re unlucky. It’s because no one taught you the most basic survival rules.

Many people think they’re fighting to turn things around, but they’re really just stumbling around in the dark. With light and direction, you’ll take fewer wrong turns.

Don’t wait until you’re liquidated to regret it.