In the summer of 2017, my renovation business suddenly collapsed. The 500,000 debt was suffocating me, and I only had 50,000 left in my pocket. The feeling at that time was like falling into an abyss.
In despair, I stayed in an internet cafe for three days and three nights, frantically studying data and calculating probabilities, and finally made the boldest decision of my life – to bet the remaining 50,000 entirely on Bitcoin. At an average price of 6,000 yuan, I bought 9 coins. This was the last gamble of a desperate fight.
The turning point appeared that winter. Bitcoin skyrocketed 16 times throughout the year. 50,000 instantly became 820,000. I even had the crazy thought of selling my house to increase my investment, thinking I had found the key to wealth.
But reality gave me a hard slap. At the moment the bubble burst in 2018, the market evaporated three-quarters of its value. 820,000 suddenly dropped to 190,000. It was that night, squatting in front of the ATM, staring at the numbers on the screen, that I truly understood – unrealized gains have never been real money, and the prosperity that cannot be maintained is worth nothing.
After that, I completely changed my strategy. I bid farewell to blindly chasing highs and lows and turned to a stable route of mining machine hosting and liquidity mining. After three years of dedicated effort, my account gradually grew to 2.8 million.
Someone asked me how many times I've multiplied my coins, and I just smiled: "In the crypto world, surviving is the only qualification to talk about making money. Risk control is the only bottom line."
The ups and downs of these years have led me to summarize three survival rules - simple, yet brutal:
**The principal is the lifeline**. When buying new coins, if the price rises, withdraw the principal first, and let the remaining profits continue to roll. No matter how deep the decline, it won't harm your vitality. This is the simplest logic for self-preservation.
**Cognition is the boundary**. Things that are not understood should absolutely not be touched. The market is never short of opportunities, but most opportunities that do not belong to you are traps. Observing more and doing less is much safer than acting impulsively.
**Position is armor**. I adhere to the "5311 rule" — 50% allocated to stable assets, 30% focused on potential targets, 10% for high-risk speculation, and 10% kept in cash reserves. This way, even in a bear market, the drawdown can be controlled within 15%.
Don't be impulsive during a bull market, and don't panic during a bear market. Those who truly survive in the crypto world for a long time are not the ones who chase trends and highs, but those who adhere to discipline and protect their capital and integrity, the "last ones standing."
Opportunities are always present, but they only favor those who live long enough. Your next doubling won't disappear forever just because you missed today. However, to catch the main wave of a bull market, you must first clarify the basic risk control concepts—breaking down complex market conditions into executable strategies is the way to safely reach the shore.
Don't wait until the market slips away to sigh in regret. Every choice you make now can either help you avoid pitfalls or increase your profits. Which one to choose, you decide.
This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.
14 Likes
Reward
14
5
Repost
Share
Comment
0/400
BasementAlchemist
· 5h ago
This story is quite realistic; I felt for him when it fell from 820,000 to 190,000. But to be honest, going all in on 50,000 Bitcoin wouldn’t be fatal now. The mindset back then was indeed crazy, but we also have to admit that luck played a huge role.
View OriginalReply0
WhaleWatcher
· 5h ago
Unrealized gains are a devilish thing; the moment it went from 820,000 to 190,000 was truly incredible.
But to be honest, this guy's later shift was the key—Mining rig hosting and Liquidity Mining can survive up to 2.8 million, which is much more reliable than momentum investing.
I have to admit this configuration method at 5311; controlling the pullback within 15% in a Bear Market can indeed allow one to last longer. Not everyone can endure to this level in the crypto world.
I can imagine that scene in front of the ATM; at that time, one probably understands what is called paper wealth.
The saying that the principal is the lifeline is correct, but in reality, very few can actually pull back their principal and roll it again.
View OriginalReply0
BearMarketNoodler
· 5h ago
Unrealized gains are not money, this statement hits home. Many people who were cut during that wave in 2018 have seen it.
View OriginalReply0
GateUser-a180694b
· 5h ago
This story sounds like another bail-in manual for a survivor in the crypto world lol
I really understand that unrealized gains aren't money... that ATM detail hit hard
Going from 50k to 820k and then falling back to 190k, this roller coaster ride is probably going to leave a shadow
However, the later "steady route" sounds like it lacks excitement, but it seems like it did indeed survive, which is worth pondering
Principal, cognition, Position... it's quite simple, but most people can't achieve it.
View OriginalReply0
MEVHunter
· 5h ago
To be honest, I looked at this 5311 rule for a long time... essentially, it's still the idea of optimizing gas fees, configuring liquidity in layers within the mempool, I understand that logic. But the key point is that he didn't explain how to identify arbitrage opportunities. If you allocate 50% to stable assets like that, will you be able to react when a Flash Loan opportunity arises? Who can hold on during a sandwich attack? Purely relying on discipline? Uh... that's a bit idealistic.
In the summer of 2017, my renovation business suddenly collapsed. The 500,000 debt was suffocating me, and I only had 50,000 left in my pocket. The feeling at that time was like falling into an abyss.
In despair, I stayed in an internet cafe for three days and three nights, frantically studying data and calculating probabilities, and finally made the boldest decision of my life – to bet the remaining 50,000 entirely on Bitcoin. At an average price of 6,000 yuan, I bought 9 coins. This was the last gamble of a desperate fight.
The turning point appeared that winter. Bitcoin skyrocketed 16 times throughout the year. 50,000 instantly became 820,000. I even had the crazy thought of selling my house to increase my investment, thinking I had found the key to wealth.
But reality gave me a hard slap. At the moment the bubble burst in 2018, the market evaporated three-quarters of its value. 820,000 suddenly dropped to 190,000. It was that night, squatting in front of the ATM, staring at the numbers on the screen, that I truly understood – unrealized gains have never been real money, and the prosperity that cannot be maintained is worth nothing.
After that, I completely changed my strategy. I bid farewell to blindly chasing highs and lows and turned to a stable route of mining machine hosting and liquidity mining. After three years of dedicated effort, my account gradually grew to 2.8 million.
Someone asked me how many times I've multiplied my coins, and I just smiled: "In the crypto world, surviving is the only qualification to talk about making money. Risk control is the only bottom line."
The ups and downs of these years have led me to summarize three survival rules - simple, yet brutal:
**The principal is the lifeline**. When buying new coins, if the price rises, withdraw the principal first, and let the remaining profits continue to roll. No matter how deep the decline, it won't harm your vitality. This is the simplest logic for self-preservation.
**Cognition is the boundary**. Things that are not understood should absolutely not be touched. The market is never short of opportunities, but most opportunities that do not belong to you are traps. Observing more and doing less is much safer than acting impulsively.
**Position is armor**. I adhere to the "5311 rule" — 50% allocated to stable assets, 30% focused on potential targets, 10% for high-risk speculation, and 10% kept in cash reserves. This way, even in a bear market, the drawdown can be controlled within 15%.
Don't be impulsive during a bull market, and don't panic during a bear market. Those who truly survive in the crypto world for a long time are not the ones who chase trends and highs, but those who adhere to discipline and protect their capital and integrity, the "last ones standing."
Opportunities are always present, but they only favor those who live long enough. Your next doubling won't disappear forever just because you missed today. However, to catch the main wave of a bull market, you must first clarify the basic risk control concepts—breaking down complex market conditions into executable strategies is the way to safely reach the shore.
Don't wait until the market slips away to sigh in regret. Every choice you make now can either help you avoid pitfalls or increase your profits. Which one to choose, you decide.