2026-01-21 11:22:09

Discipline is the true channel connecting cognition and wealth. Without it, all gains are just illusions.

In the years I've been in the crypto space, I've experienced many ups and downs. Today, I want to share a lesson from 2017 that nearly bankrupted me at the time.

That year, ADA was booming. I held from 0.03U all the way, watching my account skyrocket. 0.12U, 0.3U, 0.8U... it peaked near 1.2U, with unrealized profits close to 40 times. Can you imagine that feeling? Waking up every day first thing to refresh the screen and check the numbers, I even went to a 4S shop to look at a Porsche.

And then? I didn't sell a single coin. When the price started to fall, I couldn't stop it. ADA eventually dropped back to just over 0.2U, and all those dozens of times profit were completely wiped out. From the Porsche dream back to reality, in my own words, it was "Porsche turning into BYD." That day, I realized a truth: knowing how to buy is not enough; knowing when to sell is the real skill.

**People who make small money are most likely to lose big**

The crypto market never closes 24/7, but frequent trading isn't really necessary. I've seen too many rookie mistakes: making a little profit and then rushing in, losing and stubbornly holding on. Making a few hundred bucks and immediately increasing position, losing and then unwilling to cut losses—if you keep this logic, your account will eventually be wiped out.

The market is right there; it’s not up to you. Any behavior that goes against the trend will ultimately be harvested. Smart investors should stay calm and disciplined when making money, and decisively correct mistakes when losing. This isn't a mindset issue; it's a survival rule.

**The three main tricks used by market manipulators**

Stop-loss hunting: Using extreme prices to instantly hit your stop-loss orders, then the price rebounds.
Fake breakouts: Creating the illusion of a breakout to lure in trend followers, then dumping.
News manipulation: Flooding the market with good news to sell off, or spreading bad news to accumulate.

These tricks are played year after year. If you don't have a clear trading plan and set your take-profit and stop-loss levels, you're basically trading naked in a casino, and you'll be harvested sooner or later. Those who insist on saying "I believe in this coin's future" but refuse to cut losses often end up losing the most.

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DeFi_Dad_Jokes

· 3h ago

Damn, I was really triggered when I saw that ADA part. I'm also one of those who bought at 0.1 and sold everything at 1 dollar. Setting stop-losses properly can really save your life, no joke. I'm really tired of hearing the same rhetoric about the bright future; everyone who ends up with zero says the same thing. I have deep experience with frequent trading—made 3,000 yuan, but lost 7,000 in two weeks. Purely courting death. Being able to sell is the real skill; that really hit home.

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LiquidationKing

· 4h ago

Porsche dreams are gone, but this lesson is valuable... Going from 0.03 to 1.2, I've really seen it all—losing a coin without even selling it is just disastrous. Frequent trading is just giving money to the market makers, really. I've seen too many fools who add to their positions after making a few hundred. The stop-loss line—if you don't set one, just wait to get wiped out. Every time I see someone say "I believe in its future," I want to laugh. The ones who end up losing the most are these people. Poor discipline means your account is just one step away from being wiped out—it's that simple. It's easiest to get greedy when you're making money, but that's when you need to stay calm the most... Think about it in reverse.

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ForkThisDAO

· 4h ago

Porsche turning into BYD haha, this meme is hilarious, it really hit my heart. Talking about take profit and stop loss sounds nice, but when the moment comes, I still can't bear to sell. Those who are optimistic about the future are often the ones who lose the most money later. Discipline is easy to talk about but really hard to do. Frequent trading is a form of slow suicide, but who can resist the temptation of 24-hour market movements? Those who claim to see through the market are actually the ones who have been most painfully harvested. Making small money is the easiest way to trigger a crash; this rule applies everywhere. I also experienced that wave of ADA, I feel you. A trading plan without execution is just a piece of waste paper.

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