Someone asked me why I've been able to stay in the crypto space for so long. My answer isn't about how much money I've made, but rather that I've lived long enough.

Last year my cousin reached out to me. This guy had been doing import-export business in Shenzhen for almost ten years. When the pandemic hit, orders dried up, warehouses piled up with unsold goods, and old clients' debts seemed to disappear. During a chat, he heard someone mention the crypto space and without hesitation jumped right in. His family tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted "this will change my fate." Hearing him say that, I could only give a bitter smile — that's exactly how I was seven years ago.

**Bitcoin is the real barometer**

When looking at the crypto space, Bitcoin is always that stabilizing force. When it rises, other coins have a chance to follow suit; once it falls, basically no one can stay unscathed. Ethereum sometimes moves independently, but don't count on such low-probability events.

I've seen too many people hold onto the belief that "this coin is different" and ultimately just cut losses in a bear market. The true direction of the market is often the most obvious one.

The seesaw effect between USDT and Bitcoin is quite interesting too. When USDT shows a significant premium against the yuan, it signals that capital is seeking exits — that's when you need to stay alert. Conversely, when Bitcoin is surging crazily, holding some USDT to wait for opportunities is often smarter than chasing highs.

**There's strategy in timing**

Between 0:00 and 1:00 AM it's easy to get "wicked," so I've developed a habit of placing low-price limit orders before sleep and often catch the bottoms. The real key is the 6:00 to 8:00 AM window — if it's still dropping in the first half of the night and continues testing lower in these two hours, I consider adding positions; if it bounces, I should actually reduce positions instead.

After 5:00 PM, European and American capital becomes active, and market movements often take on new changes. Learning to read timing sometimes matters more than reading candlesticks.