At 2:30 a.m. on April 18, I stared at my phone screen for a long time—my account balance had gone from 1,000U to 15,230U. The number was so real it almost felt unreal.

At the beginning of March, I was still hiding on the balcony, smoking out of frustration after losing 2,000U. That money was originally saved for my son’s Go class. Who could have thought that two months later, not only would I fill the hole, but I’d also net a profit of over 10,000.

I don’t have any special tricks, I just figured out a “profit without risking it all” position strategy. It’s a lot more practical than those streamers who shout out trades every day.

Let’s call it the three-stage position method. Anyway, it’s how I survived.

I tested the waters on March 6, when Ethereum dropped to around $1,720. I only dared to open a position with 200U. The market was really weird those days—up 2% during the day, sure to fall back at night—so I just floated with a small position. On the third day, the market suddenly plunged 3% in the early session, so I stopped out right away, losing 12U—less than the cost of breakfast.

That’s what I call the first stage: use 20% of your base position to test the waters, and if the direction is wrong, get out immediately. A friend told me to go all in and catch the bottom, but luckily, I didn’t listen.

I waited a whole week. On March 13, Ethereum held above $1,850, and the MACD indicator flashed a golden cross signal, so I dared to add another 300U. That’s the second stage: use 30% as a flexible position to follow the trend, and cash out if it rises. Sure enough, after a 5% rise, it started to pull back, so I took profit immediately and made 45U. I transferred a red packet to my wife on WeChat that night, and she even asked if I’d done something shady.

The real profits were in the next stage. After two small wins built my confidence, on March 28, Ethereum broke through $1,900, and I put in the remaining 500U, catching the main rise. On April 18, when it hit the target price of $2,100, I sold everything. When my account balance broke 15,000U, my hands were shaking. This third stage is: use 50% as a heavy position to bet on the main uptrend, but take profits when you can—don’t get greedy.

Now, I only check the charts for 10 minutes each morning and night. I never trade more than 2 times a day. If I’m wrong, I close the app and go walk the dog.

My neighbor Lao Wang lost 80,000 trading coins before, but started using my strategy in mid-March. In 40 days, he made back 62,000. Last week, he dragged me out for drinks and said he was ready to add more.

And yet there are still people going all in and gambling on direction? That’s just giving money away. If you have coins and don’t know what to do, or you’re stuck and want to get out, now that Ethereum is holding above $2,000 and the market is still relatively stable, take the chance now—wait any longer and you might have to tough it out for another six months.