There is an unavoidable truth in the crypto world: the worse the losses, the harder it is to turn things around.

Many people daydream about doubling their assets every day, but they never ask themselves a key question—when will their accounts go to zero? Those who truly survive long-term in the cryptocurrency market deeply understand one ironclad rule: always prioritize protecting your principal.

This is not just motivational talk; behind it lies cold, hard mathematical laws:

Losing 10% requires an 11% gain to break even; losing 30% requires a 43% gain; losing 50% requires doubling your investment; losing 70% requires a 233% gain. The further the numbers go, the more hopeless it feels. When your account is down to half, the magic of compound interest makes every step ten times harder. That’s why many people get stuck in the crypto market for years without turning things around.

Stop-loss, simply put, is cutting your losses at the right time. Not every investment is worth holding onto stubbornly; sometimes, admitting defeat promptly is the smartest choice.

There are many methods of setting stop-loss, including simple technical-based, risk ratio-based, time cycle-based, and hybrid stop-loss strategies designed around personal trading systems. Each has its practitioners. But the core principle is only one: find a method that suits your rhythm and stick to it.

A reminder here: your stop-loss discipline must align with your own trading logic; don’t blindly copy others’ rules. People’s risk tolerance, cycle perception, and market judgment vary, and blindly copying can lead to failure.

In the crypto world, you can make many mistakes, but you must never get wiped out by a single error. Those who ultimately fail to survive usually don’t do so because of a single bad trade, but because they don’t know how to rescue themselves after a failure.

The cryptocurrency market is like this: unpredictable fluctuations, risks and opportunities go hand in hand. To navigate the bull and bear cycles, protecting your principal is fundamental. Only by controlling the downside risk can you pursue the upside potential. When the next cycle arrives, those who survive will have already won most of the battle.