That period was truly a profound lesson. Chasing two popular small coins, I was still daydreaming about doubling my investment and buying a house in the morning, only to see the K-line crash through support levels and eventually fall to the eighth decimal place — this is not investing, it's just spending real money on a rollercoaster of psychology.

The bloodshed made me wake up completely: in the crypto market, staying alive is a hundred times more important than making quick money. Those anonymous projects that promote "50x in a week"—either they have backdoors in their smart contracts or their economic models are so fragile that they break with a single poke. I still remember a verification protocol being hacked two years ago, with tokens dropping from $0.16 straight to the floor, causing many to lose everything. Now my strategy has changed — I concentrate all my chips on a carefully selected target. This is not throwing a tantrum; it’s a rational bet after passing through three strict review stages.

The first stage checks the team’s credibility: they must have verifiable backgrounds, with ongoing code updates on Github, not hiding behind anonymous accounts shouting from the shadows; the second stage verifies the ecosystem application: there must be real-world projects, whether in DeFi or technical solutions—projects that only have whitepapers are immediately excluded; the third stage reviews the token design: total supply should be reasonable, distribution transparent, and there should be no risk of large holders unlocking and dumping their tokens—this is the reason why long-term holding can give you peace of mind.

Honestly, retail investors can't play the "cast a wide net" approach. Instead of gambling on ten junk projects, it’s better to focus all your energy on one well-vetted, time-tested good project. For friends who missed out during the last boom, don’t fall into the "FOMO chasing highs" trap again—true opportunities always go to those who can stay calm.