The key to surviving in the crypto world has never been about how much you can make quickly, but how long you can last.

Recently, someone asked me this eternal question again: with 100,000 yuan, should I focus on spot trading or leverage contracts? Every time I hear this, I want to ask back: how many all-nighters have you pulled watching the charts? Have you experienced the despair of your account dropping from a peak to a trough in just a few minutes?

Stories from two friends might help you see this clearly.

One is Lao Zhang, whom we all call the "Zen HODLer." This guy is committed to Bitcoin and Ethereum, plus a few top coins. When prices fall, he adds more chips; when they rise, he takes moderate profits. He never touches leverage contracts. Doing this for three years, he turned 50,000 yuan into 2 million. A phrase he often says is: "When coins fall, I see it as saving money; when they rise, I see it as earning interest. I never touch leverage."

The other is Xiao Li, a "trading master" in the short-term circle. Using 10x leverage is like everyday fare for him. His craziest move was turning $3,000 into $200,000 in a week. But liquidation was just as common for him—his account was wiped out in three days. He honestly sums it up: "Contracts are both a money-making machine and a money-destroying machine. It all depends on your reaction speed and mindset whether you can handle it."

So, how should you allocate your 100,000 yuan? After years of navigating this circle, I think it's time to say something practical.

**Spot Trading: Looks slow, but actually the safest way to live**

The logic of spot trading is straightforward—buy coins and hold. Swap USDT directly for Bitcoin, and the coins go straight into your wallet. You become a true holder.

The key point is, spot trading involves assets you can actually get your hands on. As long as the project is alive, the coin price will eventually rebound. As an experienced investor, I personally keep at least half of my assets in spot—only then can I sleep peacefully at night.

The biggest enemy of spot trading is actually just one thing: your patience. Whether you can endure a bear market, whether you have the courage to add positions when others panic—that's where the real test lies. Lao Zhang's success ultimately comes down to this—he waited for the cycle to turn.

**Contracts: High returns come with high risks, and not everyone can handle it**

Contracts are a completely different game. Leverage amplifies your gains but also magnifies your losses infinitely. Xiao Li’s achievement of turning $3,000 into $200,000 sounds amazing, but going to zero can happen in the blink of an eye.

The deadly point of contracts is: a momentary misjudgment can wipe out all your principal with leverage. Plus, with 24-hour trading, extreme volatility, and sudden news, you’re defenseless against many variables.

**My advice is actually very simple**

If you're a beginner or care a lot about sleep quality, go for spot trading—don’t overthink it. Allocate about 70-80% of your 100,000 yuan to mainstream coins through dollar-cost averaging, and the rest can be in small-cap coins to add some excitement. This way, you can participate in the market without risking bankruptcy overnight.

If you do have trading experience, understand the risks clearly, and can accept losses, you might try using 20-30% of your 100,000 yuan in contracts, but be sure to strictly set stop-losses. There’s no such thing as a guaranteed profit—only how much loss you can bear.

In the end, surviving in the crypto space is 100 times more important than making quick money.