Those who survive in the crypto space do so with no luck
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Those who survive in the crypto space do so with no luck
Don't be upset.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Cai Leilei
Many people sneer, saying those who've gone through several cycles in the crypto space and made big money are just gamblers who got lucky. Let me tell you a truth—don't be jealous. No one has achieved and sustained significant wealth in crypto by mere chance. Don't argue with this.
I won't even talk about the ancient era and its countless traps—it was undoubtedly far more intense than today. But look at present times: those who have earned large sums in crypto and actually held onto them—their approach to managing major positions must have perfectly avoided all of the following:
1. Opening leveraged contracts
2. Buying large amounts of non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies
3. Keeping coins solely on exchanges
4. High-frequency trading, attempting to time the market
Don't underestimate these four points. If you haven't deeply followed the crypto space, you wouldn't understand. And those who truly made big money in crypto are necessarily people who were deeply involved and actively traded before—the fact that they managed to stick to these four principles after earning big tells you they must have suffered serious losses from these very mistakes. After gaining awareness, they stopped engaging in such gambling behaviors yet still managed to accumulate substantial funds again in crypto. Do you still think that's luck?
Most people in crypto have merely "once made money," because their profit paths were limited to the above methods—and naturally, they lose everything for the same reasons. The real problem arises when someone realizes these approaches can't lead to true wealth, but then fails to find any alternative path to prosperity within crypto.
Let me tell you: apart from avoiding the above pitfalls, those who truly made money in crypto and preserved it long-term must meet at least one of the following conditions:
1. Possessing a core product in the crypto space
No matter how insightful you are, you'll still step into the common traps and lose your coins eventually. But the key is having a product that consistently generates revenue in crypto—this product ensures that no matter how many mistakes you make, since it earns in crypto, you always recover the coins you lost. As you gradually become wiser and stop making those errors, your holdings grow steadily—figures like CZ, Brother Sun, etc., they all fell into these beginner traps, but the crucial difference is they had products continuously bringing back crypto earnings. You don't—that's the key.
2. Having the ability to consistently dollar-cost average (DCA)
If you lack the capability to build a product, this option is the most accessible for you. Stop saying "Bitcoin won't multiply much further"—that's not a justification for risking your large position in gambling.—When has Bitcoin ever been the fastest runner? Yes, Bitcoin started low, but only relative to now. Back then, compared to altcoins, Bitcoin was always the slower performer. So what happened? Where are those altcoins today? Give yourself 10 years. Gradually invest your future earnings over the next decade. Multiply your decade’s income by 5 or 10 times. This is the best way for ordinary people to engage with crypto.
The prerequisite here is a solid locking mechanism—only deposits allowed, no withdrawals; a disciplined DCA environment—not investing when you feel like it or have spare cash, skipping it when funds are tight, going all-in when prices seem low, or stopping when prices seem high. You also need strong off-chain income generation—the stronger your earning power, the greater the compounding effect of these rules.
All these prerequisites are essential. Someone who excels off-chain yet remains humble, obedient, and disciplined on-chain—this person is already exceptional. The wealth they earn is rightfully theirs.
3. Coins are locked up
I once joined an early fund where my coins were locked for five years. During that time, the crypto market went through immense ups and downs, yet this capital remained untouched—I couldn't move it even if I wanted to. Were there times when I needed money urgently? Of course. I bought a house during this period, investment returns hadn't come in, and I needed funds for other projects—so I briefly borrowed from banks. Meanwhile, my personally managed crypto assets dwindled over various entrepreneurial ventures, but when the fund finally distributed profits, combining all shares, I received hundreds of bitcoins—though the fund didn't outperform simply holding Bitcoin directly back then, the issue was I couldn't hold. The percentage loss from this fund was far smaller than what I'd have lost holding on my own.
This kind of scenario is common in crypto. A nobody buys crypto, goes to jail for assault, and emerges a billionaire—this isn't fiction, it's reality. Had he not been jailed, he would've lost all his coins long ago.
Since then, I've proactively locked up my largest portion of Bitcoin holdings, which remain locked to this day. If you believe in Bitcoin, convert everything you have into Bitcoin now, proactively lock it up for 10 years, then rebuild your life from scratch. Reassess after 10 years—the outcome might surpass anything else you could achieve during this decade doing seemingly more productive things.
Once again, I've never seen a single industry leader become one by trading crypto—none. Trading doesn't create leaders, leverage doesn't create leaders. There's no such thing as luck in crypto. Your understanding must mature first before crypto can become your greatest wealth-building tool; otherwise, you become its slave.
Last month, under one of my articles, someone commented: when Ethereum was at 3600, he bet on the upgrade expected in March-April, sold his house, went all-in with 2x leverage long position. I asked him why he opened leverage despite my warnings. He replied he was bullish on the market and believed 2x leverage couldn't possibly get liquidated—could Ethereum really drop another 50%?
Yes. I'm also bullish on the outlook, but I respect the market. I'd never use leverage here—not because I'm cautious, but because I understand something he doesn't.
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