Writing this for traders who hesitate amid market volatility

I started exploring the crypto space in 2018, experiencing the despair when Bitcoin dropped to $3,800, and riding the waves of DeFi and NFTs. But ultimately, what led to stable account growth was not a sudden surge of a certain coin nor luck, but the discipline and patience to gradually grow a $5,000 principal to $100,000 through consistent rules.

Honestly, every piece of experience was tested with real money. If you're still thinking about making steady money, these insights might help.

**Phase One: Establish a Framework — Survival is More Important Than Quick Profit**

From the beginning, I set $5,000 as my "last capital." No backup, which made decision-making clearer. I established three bottom lines:

Single Trade Loss Limit — no more than 5% of the account. For example, with a $300 initial trade, if it breaks support, cut losses immediately and do not add positions.

Daily Drawdown Trigger — if the drawdown reaches 15%, close the software and step away from the screen. Often, stopping trading itself is a victory.

Profit Distribution System — once profits reach twice the initial risk (e.g., $600), withdraw $300 of the principal to your wallet, and let the remaining profit continue to grow in the market.

Mindset is crucial. Don’t treat trading as gambling. Every position should be supported by logic — for example, only enter when the 4-hour candle stabilizes above the 20-day moving average, not just based on market ups and downs.

**Phase Two: Build Protective Barriers — Stop-Loss Orders Are Your Insurance**

The first 7 days of operation were simple: do only two things:

Place orders at key support levels — choose technical points like previous lows or the lower Bollinger Band, and refuse to chase highs. Be patient and wait for the price to pull back.

Dynamic Adjustment of Stop-Loss — once floating profit exceeds 5% of the entry price, move the stop-loss to the cost basis immediately. Even if the market reverses later, at worst, you break even and exit.

For example, I set a long position on ETH at $1,850 support, with a stop-loss at $1,830. When the price rebounded to $1,900, I moved the stop-loss from $1,830 to $1,850, locking in some gains. This isn’t greed; it’s leaving room for mistakes.

**Phase Three: Compound Growth — Accumulate Big Gains from Small Wins**

After stabilizing in the first two phases, it took about two months for the account to grow from $5,000 to $15,000. Then I started increasing position sizes with a 10% risk per trade.

The key shift was in mindset. Seeing others go all-in and make 100x profits can be tempting. But I’ve seen too many blow up at such moments. I chose a slower, more sustainable path.

From $15,000 to $50,000 took three months. From $50,000 to $100,000 took a little over three months. Throughout this process, I experienced three drawdowns over 20%, but strict risk control prevented any margin calls or blowups.

**Final Advice**

If I had to summarize the core point: success in trading is often not about how many times you make big money, but about how many times you survive and preserve your capital. Making 50% in a month and then blowing up is not as good as consistently earning 5% monthly for two years. The difference in returns isn’t as big as you might think.

Crypto markets are indeed volatile, but that highlights the importance of patience and discipline. I hope you’re not among those who get eliminated in the next market cycle.