8 Years Surviving in Crypto: The Secret That 90% of Newcomers Are Never Told

In a highly volatile market like crypto, survival is 100 times more important than making money. One bull–bear cycle is not enough to build resilience, test strategies, and understand market behavior. Those who can last for the long haul share a common pattern: 8 years – 2 cycles – 3 stages of maturity.

First 4 Years: Apprenticeship Phase – Building “Survival Skills” Newcomers often make the biggest mistake: wanting to do everything and ending up mastering nothing. In the first 4 years, just pick one path and dive deep for at least 6–12 months: Trend trading On-chain analysis Trading new assets (new listing, whitelist) Hunting incentives/retroactive Platform arbitrage If you have small capital, focus on risk management optimization

Common mistake: doing too many things at once – results in both losing capital and failing to accumulate skills.

Core lessons: ➡️ Being great at one thing is better than knowing many things superficially. ➡️ Time spent accumulating skills is more important than initial capital.

Next 4 Years: Transition to “Investor Mindset” Once you have capital and experience, your approach should change: 80% of capital allocated to strong, highly liquid assets: BTC, ETH, top layer-1s, projects with solid foundations. 20% of capital used for trend trading, riding cyclical waves. No more “buying tops – FOMO – all-in” driven by emotion. Focus on big cycles, avoid getting caught up in intraday noise.

Key point: ➡️ The people who make the most money are not the ones who trade the most, but those who understand cycles and know how to be patient.

3 Viable Ways to Make Money for Regular People (Practical – Not Sugarcoated)

1. “Lazy but Effective” Route: DCA for 1–2 Cycles Best for busy people: Prepare 100–200 million VND Split your capital into 96 portions, buy regularly each week Allocation: 60% BTC/ETH 30% assets in sectors with real applications 10% assets in major ecosystems Key to success: persist for 1–2 cycles, don’t be shaken by short-term volatility.

DCA is not for “catching the bottom,” but for optimizing average price over the long term.

2. Skill-Based Route – Earning from Information & Tools Best for those who are diligent and willing to learn: Know how to find early-stage projects Know how to evaluate platforms, teams, tokenomics Be proficient with wallets, multi-accounts, RPCs, avoid getting flagged Able to read English documents Join whitelists, testnets, retroactive programs

Reality: 70% of early projects don’t yield profits, but just a few big winners are enough to cover your costs.

3. Investing in “10x Potential” Assets – A Game of Choices and Probability Assets that increase 10–30x typically appear: At the start of a bull cycle In new sectors, backed by significant capital With clear products or models Not just “tokens to be sold off”

You should only use a maximum of 10% of your capital to hunt for 10x opportunities, absolutely avoid going all-in.

10 Survival Rules to Avoid 80% of Common Mistakes For established assets, pick the “industry leaders”: BTC, ETH, Solana, coins with strong foundations. New assets must have reputable backers: No major funds → high risk. Avoid assets that just follow local trends – most are pump & dumps. Exit outdated assets quickly – low liquidity can get you stuck. In bull markets, never use leverage – small wins, big losses. In bear markets, focus on preserving capital – don’t try to catch falling knives. News always lags behind money flow – don’t trade emotionally based on headlines. Technical analysis/trends are more reliable than rumors. Don’t blindly copy-trade – not understanding the logic means losses are inevitable. Always set stop-loss and take-profit – discipline beats gut feeling.

Bull Market & Bear Market: Completely Different Strategies

1. Bull Market Phase (Strong Uptrend) Prioritize holding spot, avoid margin Strategy: hold long-term + ride main trend waves Rely on: Breakouts Trendlines Accumulation zones Don’t chase trash coins that pump 50x in one day

2. Bear Market Phase (Deep Downtrend) Reduce investment weight – capital preservation is priority #1 Only trade with clear downtrends Absolutely do not try to catch the bottom Use low-risk tools when necessary (spot, light hedging)

6 Principles to “Read the Cycle” by Dow Theory’s Simplified Version Price reflects everything – news, market cap, sentiment. Just capture the main trend – no need to catch every small wave. A cycle consists of 3 phases: accumulation → strong uptrend → euphoria Consensus across many assets confirms a strong trend. Volume must confirm price – increases with volume are more sustainable. Wait for reversal confirmation – don’t try to guess tops/bottoms.

Conclusion In crypto, “graduation” isn’t about time spent learning, but about how many cycles you’ve survived. If you can make it through 2 bull–bear cycles (about 8 years), accumulate skills, maintain discipline, and truly understand cycles — you’ve already outperformed 80% of the market.