Many people treat trading cryptocurrencies as gambling, but I see it as a job—this shift changed my account.

In the beginning, I was no different from most beginners: staying up late watching charts, chasing highs and selling lows, experiencing margin calls and insomnia—all went through it. Until one day I realized that such operations are simply unsustainable. Later, I changed my mindset: maintaining regular routines, executing according to plan, and strict discipline. The experience accumulated over these years of live trading hopes to help newcomers avoid detours.

**Key Rule 1: Trade only after 9 PM**

During the day, market fluctuations are large and news is everywhere. The trend at that time is basically chaotic. After 9 PM, market news is mostly digested, and the candlestick charts become cleaner, making trend judgment easier. Trading during this period has a significantly higher success rate.

**Key Rule 2: Take profits immediately**

Suppose you earn 1000U, take out 300U first to secure gains. Many make the mistake of greed—earning three times and wanting five times, resulting in a pullback that wipes out gains and even loses the principal. I’ve seen this happen too often. Withdrawing part of the profit is not conservative; it’s rational.

**Key Rule 3: Let indicators speak, don’t rely on intuition**

Entering based on feelings is the fastest way to get wiped out. Just install a market analysis app and check these three indicators:
- Is MACD showing a golden or death cross?
- Is RSI in overbought or oversold territory?
- Is the Bollinger Band narrowing or breaking out?

If at least two of these indicators align, it’s worth considering entering.

**Key Rule 4: Trailing stop-loss with price movement**

When you can monitor the market, move your stop-loss up as profits grow. For example, buy at 1000, and if it rises to 1100, move the stop-loss up to 1050. If you don’t have time for real-time adjustments, set a hard stop-loss at 3% to prevent a sudden crash from wiping out your position.

**Key Rule 5: Account balance is not money**

Only the funds transferred to your bank account count as real money. Every profit should be withdrawn according to a plan—take out 30-50%, don’t keep everything in the account dreaming of tenfold gains.

**Key Rule 6: Have a method for reading candlesticks**

For short-term trading, look at the 1-hour chart. Two consecutive bullish candles might be a buy signal. If the market is sideways, switch to the 4-hour chart to find support levels, and consider entering when the price approaches support.

**Key Rule 7: Avoid these pitfalls**

Over-leveraging with heavy positions—one wrong move and it’s all gone. Trading unfamiliar altcoins—easy to get cut. More than three trades a day—emotions can spiral out of control.

Ultimately, trading cryptocurrencies isn’t about impulsively chasing quick riches, but about executing the same strategy repeatedly over the long term. When it becomes a job—logging in on time daily, following the plan, shutting down at the right time, resting when needed—such discipline sustains account growth and makes it sustainable.