"Bro, I'm done for. All 360,000 is gone."

That was my cousin's call last winter, his voice trembling. When FTX collapsed, the altcoins he went all-in on dropped 90% in three days, leaving only 4,000 in his account—barely enough for a high-speed train ticket home.

All I said at the time was: In the market, it's the reckless who die, and the cowards who survive.

I never expected that four months later, this "coward" would show me his wallet balance: 1.13 million USDT. Just enough for a down payment on an apartment.

He didn’t learn how to predict the market, but he made “caution” a rule for every trade. These hard rules are a hundred times more useful than staring at candlestick charts.

**Rule 1: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket**

The dumbest way to die is to go all-in.

Now my cousin splits his principal into four parts, never using more than 25% per trade. Made a bad call? He still has 75% to maneuver. Last December, during that sudden dip, while others panic sold, he used a quarter of his position to try catching the bottom, setting a stop-loss. That night it bounced back, netting him an 18% gain.

The key isn’t how much you make, but how much you can afford to lose.

**Rule 2: Taking profits is more important than cutting losses**

Most people understand stop-losses, but what really kills you is not knowing when to take profits.

He set a hard rule for himself: if a single trade gains more than 15%, he sells in batches—never fantasizing about “one more rally.” This February, when a major coin hit his target price, he immediately sold half his position to lock in profits. That coin did go up another 12%, but three days later it crashed 20%—everyone who got greedy got buried.

Taking profits is always in style.

**Rule 3: Always leave yourself an out**

Before every trade, he now asks himself three questions:
- How much of a drawdown at this price can I accept?
- If I’m wrong, how much can I lose without losing sleep?
- If it goes sideways for half a year, how long can my funds last?

Sounds cowardly? But it’s this cautious attitude that took him from 4,000 to 1.13 million.

Crypto doesn’t lack for warriors—it lacks for cautious survivors who make it to the next bull run.