Taking profits. Save or rotate into small caps? Or a hybrid approach?

This is the first cycle where I’ve actually set up a proper laddered profit-taking plan, instead of just holding and hoping for the best. In past runs, I’d usually ride things up, then get caught when the market turned, and ended up giving back way too much of my unrealized gains. This time I’m trying to be more disciplined.

From what I’ve seen in previous cycles, the capital rotation usually follows a pretty familiar pattern: Bitcoin runs first, then ETH, then the big high caps like SOL, SUI, AVAX, etc. After that, attention tends to flow down into mid caps, and finally into the smaller caps and meme plays near the later stages of the cycle.

Right now we’re starting to see the high caps moving, and I’m wondering what the best approach is once my ladder targets start hitting. Should I rotate some of those profits down the chain into smaller caps to try and catch the next wave of pumps? Or is it smarter to lock in gains by parking them in stables or safer yield vaults so that I don’t risk giving it all back if the market turns quicker than expected?

I’d love to hear how others are handling profit-taking this cycle. Are you rotating aggressively into the lower caps for maximum upside potential, or playing it safer by banking profits into stables, yields, or BTC/ETH to reduce risk? What lessons have you learned from previous cycles that are shaping your strategy this time around?