From Debt-Ridden Degen to $40 Million Annual Revenue: The Legendary Trader 'Hodl Hawk's' Liquidation Reversal and Profit Insights!

2025-06-24 16:54

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HODLer's Hands-On Battle: Event-Driven Breakthrough for Revenue Growth

Source: OKX

On June 21, legendary trader Ao Ying (@thankUcrypto) appeared on the OKX Chinese livestream and had a deep conversation with Mia Mi Li’er (@mia_okx).

He was once an Internet product manager, but dived headfirst into the ever-changing world of Web3;

He was once a heavily indebted Degen, repeatedly liquidated in the "200k Curse";

Yet now he has repeatedly made millions in USD profits from a single coin, with annual returns exceeding 40 million USD

He has topped the exchange's leaderboard three times, creating a legendary tale with spot trading: 20,000% ROI, single-coin profit of 1.4 million U, and follower profit of 1.8 million U

This is not just a simple rags-to-riches story, but a true trader's evolution full of hardships, deep reflection, and continuous growth—how did Ao Ying evolve into what he is today?

I. Lost in Confusion: From Web2 "Screw Tightening" to Web3 "One Battle to Godhood"

Every legend's beginning is often accompanied by unknown confusion and struggle. Ao Ying's story is no exception. His journey into Web3 started with dissatisfaction with the status quo and a desire for a side hustle. "I used to work as an Internet product manager," Ao Ying recalled. In 2020, due to work requirements, he first encountered the Web3 field and officially started his futures trading (contract) career in 2021. At that time, he was not the reckless risk-taker everyone imagines but approached it with caution and experimentation.

"At the beginning, the initial capital was very small, with a monthly salary of over ten thousand, I could put out three to five thousand RMB for trading," Ao Ying was just like many young people entering the crypto circle—carrying a desire for wealth growth, cautiously using part of his salary to test the waters. However, reality soon delivered a heavy blow: "The result at the time was both gains and losses, but ultimately, I lost more."

At a deeper level, Ao Ying, in his mid-twenties, felt a dual bottleneck in his career and life. "Economic pressure, such as the responsibilities a man should bear—'buying a house, buying a car, providing a better life for his girlfriend,'" these practical considerations made him urgently need a side hustle to seek a breakthrough. Web3 trading became the "lifeline" in his eyes at the time. He admitted that he didn't have a complete plan to fully commit at that time; it was more of a shift and exploration, hoping to find new possibilities.

A turning point came unexpectedly. In the midst of ongoing trades and investments, despite an overall loss, the Night Owl did not give up. He began to experiment with grid trading on the OKX platform, using a grid trading ID named "all in crypto." "I achieved triple profits in six months on OKX using the 'all in crypto' grid trading ID, with very low drawdowns, and hence gained my first group of followers." This successful grid trading experience made him determined. "From that moment on, I resigned to start trading independently, and here I am today."

II. Rogue Path "Alchemy": Learning from Live Traders, Avoiding Many Detours

"Everyone's path to learning Web3 is different. I took a more rogue path," the Night Owl frankly stated. While most people were immersed in learning various technical indicators and candlestick theories, his focus was on those traders who actually existed in live trading software and were consistently profitable.

His learning method, though straightforward, was highly effective: "It's about observing real traders' orders in various live trading software, getting to know them, finding ways to join their fan groups, and then asking them about the logic behind their orders." He emphasized that the objects of learning must be those "live traders who make big profits and are willing to share." This almost "apprenticeship-style" seeking of advice allowed him to directly access the freshest trading cases and the most realistic trading strategies.

The Night Owl admitted that what he learned from these predecessors was not a rigid systematic methodology, but rather invaluable practical experience and pitfalls to avoid. "In fact, what you learn from them is not a systematic methodology but something that can help you avoid many detours and losses." This transmission of experience often strikes at the essence of trading more effectively than theoretical knowledge found in books.

Losing money is the best teacher; through repeated liquidations, he honed his "market feel." "Following the trail, continuously watching the sharing and live trading of real traders, asking them about every trade, how it was done, why it made a profit, and why it resulted in a loss." This was the core of the Night Owl's early learning. However, learning by observation alone is not enough; true growth comes from practical experience, especially from those painful loss experiences. Thus, step by step, combined with his continuous live trading and many losses, the Night Owl slowly gained experience through "losing."

III. Phoenix Rebirth: Ending the "200K Curse," Epic Recovery from Degen Debt

Starting from a few thousand dollars and reaching tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands is no easy feat for many traders. Yet, the Night Owl was once trapped in the so-called "capital barrier" or "psychological barrier"—he repeatedly increased his funds to around 200K, only to inevitably lose it all back, which he referred to as the "200K curse." Breaking this curse was accompanied by an epic market capture and a gut-wrenching "wake-up call."

The real turning point came in 2024. Aoying admitted that the whole thing was doable due to luck. However, luck always favors the prepared. "Between March and June 2024, there were actually two waves of bull markets, one was the AI market, and the other was the meme coin market, and I happened to catch both of them." Not only that, before these major bull markets took off, he accurately caught the wave of Inscriptions' 'second spring.' "Basically, I caught all three waves of the bull market, which allowed me to suddenly break through the capital barrier."

This successful capture of three consecutive bull markets, like a stroke of genius, led to an exponential increase in his capital volume. More importantly, this huge success not only allowed him to clear all his debts but also accumulated substantial profits. From that moment on, he felt that he could finally "keep going" and break free from the shadow of repeated losses.

When losses cut deep, trading truly began. Regarding the "200,000 curse" and repeated liquidations, Aoying has profound reflections. He believes that the so-called capital threshold is often not due to inadequate trading skills but rather a psychological issue. "It's more like a psychological issue—it's not that you haven't learned the indicators well, hasn't kept a close eye on the market, can't pick coins, but that your character, your mindset isn't there yet."

During the debt phase, his trading had already transformed, and his mindset had become more and more "submerged." He described himself at that time as "not hurt enough by the losses." Despite losing a lot of money, many positions, and even some positions valued in the hundreds of thousands all turned into losses, none of this was enough to make him change completely. "It wasn't until I kept losing until the end, couldn't afford to lose anymore, that losing everything was really at stake. That was the moment when I truly 'felt the pain of loss,' and all problems were solved." This experience of "awakening through losses," like a wake-up call, led to a fundamental change in his attitude towards trading. He started to "treat every trade very cautiously, and executed every position honestly."

IV. Aoying's Secret: Basically Abandoning All Kinds of Indicators, Relying on 'Event-Driven' to Forge Tens of Millions in Profits

In the early days, Aoying learned various trading methods that anyone pursued, such as the dual moving average system, EMA for looking at moving averages, naked K, Fibonacci, wave theory, Dow theory, and various turtle rules, etc. But now, other than occasionally looking at naked K, moving averages, and trade volume, he basically doesn't use them. "Indicators can only help you get a better entry point, but they don't determine whether you can ultimately make big money. So now I've basically abandoned all kinds of indicators, they may still be on the chart, but I don't use them for real technical analysis."

"Don't be too superstitious about indicators. I've stepped on various kinds of pits myself. I used to think I had found a high win rate strategy, or the 'Holy Grail of Trading,' but in the end, I found that these things were all fake, and only my own cognition is real." Aoying gave an example that while Bollinger Bands might be useful for Bitcoin in a ranging market, in a trending market, it is completely ineffective, so one should not blindly trust indicators.

When Aoying is trading low-cap altcoins, small market cap projects, or some niche mainstream coins, the most important thing for him is whether there is a hot event that can drive the price. Because most of his significant gains in this cycle are basically achieved through "event-driven" strategies. For example, relying on the macro event of "Trump and Musk squabbling," he shorted DOGE and made 1 million USDT, and later bought the dip on ETH to make 1.3 million USDT, and so on. Another example is the bull run where ETH surged for four consecutive days by 80%. Aoying went long on "River Horse" during that rally, turning his investment from over 1 million to over 5 million, with 9 trades all profitable, making a net profit of over 4 million. Aoying's trades are not based on indicators but rather on market "FOMO" sentiment and the understanding of the market's "listing rules." However, when trading mainstream coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Aoying tends to follow the trend.

"My trading is not systematic; it's entirely based on improvisation. I can trade any market and use any type of stop-loss strategy." Aoying is very flexible in his trading approach and is extremely cautious in using leverage. The actual leverage he employs is much lower than the nominal leverage. The 10x leverage shown on his trade is just a surface figure, and the actual leverage is around 5x. He gradually builds his positions, and the effective leverage ends up being around 4.5x. Furthermore, as his funds grow, Aoying tends to use even lower leverage because lower leverage makes him "more daring and more stable," creating a positive feedback loop resulting in increasing profits.

Aoying's longtime fans should know that Aoying's first key trade was in March 2024, when he went long on BCH with 5x leverage, turning his investment from 3,000 USDT to 10,000 USDT. At that time, Aoying was the first to notice the unusual movement of BSV, predicted that BCH might catch up, and eventually made a 2.7x return, increasing his account value by more than 40%. Since then, he has successively attacked the AI and MEME markets, from Watercoin to PEPE and then to CRV, switching between long and short positions with a stable win rate and clear logic, steadily growing his account from 20,000 USDT to 10 million USDT. However, during this process, except for the BCH trade where he used 5x leverage, Aoying mostly used 3x, 2x, 1x, and even 0.8x and 0.5x leverage for his trades, eventually completing the comeback from 20,000 USDT to 10 million USDT.

"What really amplifies the capital is logic, strategy, and execution, not the leverage multiplier; what really sets the difference is cognition, not the leverage multiplier," Aoying shared.

Five, "Locomotive" Responsibility: Not cutting fan liquidity, and will no longer voluntarily disclose positions

"I don't liquidate everyone's liquidity because I trade based on logic." Aoying admitted that all the coins he publicly mentioned are open and transparent, with no insider trading. Even if he is the "insider," he is a transparent one. He never engages in secretly entering a position and then announcing it, and most of his fans can often get ahead of him. Many times, as long as the fans see his callout first, they may even have a higher return rate than him, which is why he has garnered a large number of fans.

However, now the mindset of the Night Heron has changed. "I found that some projects have started to see me as 'liquidity for dumping.' Now the overall market liquidity is too dry, and any good event, once I publicly participate, many people may end up holding the bag at a high price. So now I am more cautious, and I don't want to be a 'figurehead' anymore. I now tend to quietly make money, form my own logic, and if you are willing to believe, you can follow along; if not, it's okay. I will no longer actively disclose my position because now public disclosure is actually a harm to fans."

The mentioned "forming my own logic" is the "secret" that the Night Heron has talked about the most, and this mindset has accompanied his entire trading career. "Apart from continuously accepting new information, new events, and new policies, the way I trade has hardly changed — I still use my own trading logic to make money." However, in sharp contrast to the Night Heron, many diligently learning individuals are still losing money. The Night Heron believes that those who still haven't made money may not necessarily have followed the wrong "learning path"; the key is whether they have grown after experiencing losses. If after a loss, all that's left is "forget it," the Night Heron suggests that such people can choose to exit, and maybe never come back.

Those who easily make a lot of money are determined by an individual's overall quality. They must have risk management ability as well as the ability to perceive market trends. Especially when the most suitable market conditions arise, one must be able to "dare to enter." The Night Heron knows many skilled traders who are essentially a one-hit wonder: they dare to enter and exit within a market cycle, and in the end, they make tens of millions, hundreds of millions, even billions. But it might be just that one time, and they may never catch the next market cycle. So, during the most opportune time frame, one must be decisive, without hesitation, respect their own judgment, trust their own judgment, and then dare to execute. If you hesitate when the market arrives, then you've truly missed out. The most suitable personality for trading is — daring judgment, daring action, unity of knowledge and action.

"If you succeed, you are the one sitting here sharing; if you fail, then you continue to sit in the audience listening."

VI. Night Heron's Adage: There will still be a 25% level pullback in the future, and at that time, I will go long

Regarding his views on the future market and Bitcoin price, the Night Heron firmly states, "I will never be bearish on Bitcoin." Currently, extreme "deep bear" is unlikely to occur, but he believes that there will still be a 25% level pullback in the future, and when the pullback occurs, he will still choose to go long.

For those newbie users who want to "turn the tables," the Night Heron advises not to trade on debt, not to speculate on the secondary market, but to directly participate in project development, accumulate a certain amount of capital and understanding, and then consider entering the futures market for "swing trading." In addition, he also suggests that newbie users can follow real trading practitioners such as Chuimu, Formula, Maomao Big Devil, Teacher Tony, Dragon King, and others. Their managed funds generally start from 50 million, and many are already at the billion-dollar level. These people are truly worth learning from, and their content is also very insightful and easy to understand.

From the debt-ridden Degen to the millionaire annual income legendary trader, Aoying's experience is full of drama and profound trading wisdom. His story and insights are highly valuable for anyone navigating the trading market.

Disclaimer:

This article is for reference only. It represents the author's views and not those of OKX. This article does not intend to provide (i) investment advice or investment recommendations; (ii) an offer or solicitation to buy, sell, or hold digital assets; (iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such information. Holding digital assets (including stablecoins and NFTs) involves high risks and may experience significant fluctuations. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for your financial situation. For your specific circumstances, consult your legal/tax/investment professional. You are responsible for understanding and complying with local applicable laws and regulations.