The flashing numbers on the screen may look glamorous, but if they don't end up in your wallet, it's all just illusions.

I still remember 2018. I watched a friend turn $5,000 into $100,000 through relentless trading. The market was scorching hot back then, opening the exchange felt like opening a blind box—everyone was talking about million-dollar dreams. I told him to take some profits first, but he waved me off, eyes shining: "That’s just the beginning, I’ll wait until I hit $500,000." Less than three months later, the market turned. He didn’t take profits in time; instead, he kept adding to his positions during the decline, thinking he could turn it around. In the end, his $100,000 became just a few thousand, completely evaporating from the crypto world.

Don’t think I can see through everything. In 2020, my own account surged to $600,000. Rationality told me to stop, all the top signals flashing red, but greed, like a virus, eroded my judgment. I wanted one more bite. That one bite, a bearish candle dropped overnight, and my account was cut in half. Lying in bed at 3 a.m., I kept replaying one thought: I should have pulled out earlier.

After playing in the crypto space for a long time, I realized that the biggest enemy isn’t the market itself, but the person in the mirror. Every stop-loss is a psychological battle. With 24-hour market movements and overwhelming news, emotions are the easiest to be hijacked. I’ve done stupid things like chasing the pump—fearing missing out, rushing in at the top; and also stupidly cutting losses—fear controlling reason, only to see the price rebound immediately.

Later, I understood. This market is always bursting with opportunities; what’s truly scarce is capital. Missing out on an opportunity because of no bullets can be tormenting for a long time. Compared to earning a little less, that kind of regret hits harder.

All the pitfalls I’ve stepped into over the years have now become notes. Bitcoin’s rises and falls always follow patterns, but human greed and fear are the most unpredictable variables. No matter how tempting the numbers on the exchange are, remember one thing: if the profits haven’t truly landed in your account, they’re not worth bragging about.