Having spent eight years in the crypto world, my most profound memory is the frenzy of altcoins in 2017. That year, I set my sights on ADA, gradually building a position starting from three cents. No one could have predicted that in just three months, it would soar to a historic high of $1.20. My account funds nearly multiplied forty times.

The first thing I do every day upon waking is to check the market. Watching the asset numbers in my account steadily grow, dreams of paying off my house and investing in financial products start to unfold in my mind. But I made all the mistakes that retail investors often make—greed. I was always reluctant to press the sell button.

The result was brutal. ADA began to plummet vertically, falling back to two cents. Unrealized gains like a burst balloon, evaporating about 80% in an instant. Those dreams of buying a house and accumulating wealth all turned into numbers bouncing on the screen.

This time, I finally understood a truth: in the crypto world, everyone can buy, but the real masters make money by timing their sells and executing with discipline.

Later, I developed my own methodology, using the "Ladder Take-Profit Method" combined with strict stop-loss discipline.

Let's talk about take-profit first. Suppose a coin rises from $1 to $2. I would sell one-third of my position—this way, I basically recover my principal. My mindset relaxes immediately, and I no longer care about the ups and downs of the remaining position. When it continues to rise to $3, I sell another third. The remaining 40% then sets a trailing stop—if it drops 15% from its peak, I automatically close all positions. This way, I can enjoy the middle wave of the rally without giving back all the profits.

Regarding stop-loss, I have a strict rule: the loss on a single trade must never exceed 5% of the total principal. Before each purchase, I always set a conditional order with a -10% stop-loss as an insurance policy for trading. Some fear missing out on opportunities due to stop-losses, but there's no need to worry. The crypto market is full of opportunities; the market is active every day. But once the principal is lost, you lose the chance to recover entirely.

Over eight years, I’ve seen too many so-called "get-rich-quick" stories. But what I see even more are those who end up losing everything in the rollercoaster of the market. The ones who truly manage to walk away with their profits intact are often those who strictly adhere to discipline and are not swayed by market fluctuations.