Having been in the crypto space for so many years, I've seen countless people's fortunes rise and fall. Ironically, the money they earn often ends up being lost again, even losing their principal in the process.

The most common question I hear is: "Why am I still losing after trading for so long?" The answer is actually quite straightforward — it's not that I can't spot opportunities, but that I can't hold onto the gains.

**The True Cost of Drawdowns Is Outrageous**

Many people treat a single profit as the end goal, ignoring the mathematical traps behind drawdowns. This isn't a mindset issue; it's purely a numbers game.

The data speaks for itself: a 20% account shrinkage requires a 25% gain to break even; a 40% decline needs a 66.7% increase to recover; the harshest is a 50% cut, which requires doubling your gains to get back to the original. Once a deep drawdown occurs, the subsequent recovery costs grow exponentially.

When the market oscillates, the differences become glaringly obvious. Some have explosive positions, some don't set stop-losses, and others trade purely on intuition. The most severe losses reveal a clear problem — it's not the market acting up, but the trading system itself being riddled with flaws.

**The Strongest Opponent Is Actually the Person in the Mirror**

The deeper you go, the more you realize one fundamental truth: the hardest part of trading isn't studying indicators or analyzing patterns, but battling yourself.

When greed takes over, you want to earn an extra point; when panic strikes, you rush to sell. In the end, you're being led by the market's movements. It looks like you're making decisions, but in reality, your emotions are controlling the entire situation.