Let's first restore a scene that can be seen every day:

  • Some say: "I am bullish!"

  • On the other side, someone shouts: "I have gone short!"

  • A third person comes in and says: "I am also bearish, but I haven't gone short, just holding the spot to see."

It sounds like they are all talking about direction:

Rise or fall, long or short, optimistic or pessimistic.

But if you ask a detailed question:

"So what are you right now - spot long? Long contract? Short contract? Or nothing at all?"

Out of 10 people, at least 7 cannot articulate clearly.

Today's article is to help you understand a particularly key point:

“Bullish/Bearish” ≠ “Long Contract/Short Contract”
One is "idea", and the other is "position + tools".

Once you draw this line clearly, your trading will immediately be half as chaotic.

First, "bullish/bearish" is just a thought in one's mind.

Let's clarify two terms first:

  • Bullish:

    • Do you believe that prices are more likely to rise in the near future?

  • Bearish:

    • Do you believe that prices are more likely to fall in the near future?

Note the following three points:

  1. This is an "opinion," not a guarantee.

  2. It means "within a period of time", not forever.

  3. It's "high probability," not 100%.

Therefore, "bullish/bearish" is essentially:

A viewpoint, a judgment, a tendency.

Having this opinion doesn't mean you'll definitely go:

  • Buy

  • Add to position

  • Long contracts

  • Open short contracts

Ideas are ideas, and actions are actions.
Many people lose money because:

"As soon as you have an idea, rush into the market to express it."

II. Long and Short Contracts: These are "specific positions that express a stance through contracts".

Let's look at these two words on the contract side:

  • Long positions (long orders):

    • You use margin + leverage,

    • Opened a position that **"makes money when prices go up, and loses money when prices go down"**.

  • Short contracts (short positions):

    • You use margin + leverage,

    • I opened a position that **"makes money when prices fall, and loses money when prices rise"**.

Therefore, the conclusion is clear:

Bullish / Bearish = What do you think?
Long/Short Contracts = How do you choose sides with your real money?

You can definitely have these combinations:

  • Bullish, but not going long (choosing to observe / only taking a small amount of spot).

  • Bearish, but not shorting (only reducing positions/taking profits, not actively shorting).

  • Expect long-term uptrend, but short-term shorting is recommended to capitalize on a pullback.

  • The outlook is for a long-term downtrend, but a short-term long position is recommended for a rebound.

As long as you understand the cycle and the purpose
These seemingly contradictory actions are all reasonable.

III. Spot Long / Long Contract / Short Contract: Three Completely Different Levels

When many people say "I'm going long," they end up mixing up three different states:

① Abundant spot supply:

You actually have this thing.

  • The coin is in your hands

  • No margin call

  • You endured both the speed of rises and falls.

  • Worst case scenario: The price drops from the purchase price to 0 (extreme situation)

risk:

  • You'll keep losing money as the price falls unless you sell yourself.

  • But you won't be "forced to exit by the system"; you decide the pace yourself.

② Long positions:

You bought a "leveraged upward move".

  • What you're receiving is the contract, not the coin itself.

  • If the direction is right, the returns can be amplified by leverage.

  • If you go in the wrong direction and the price fluctuates even slightly, you could lose all your margin and be liquidated.

Typical characteristics:

  • Leverage

  • There is a deposit

  • There is a margin call price

You're not "slowly acquiring something that will appreciate in value".
Instead, it is in:

Bet on the "rising price" at an even faster pace.

③ Short contracts:

You bought a "leveraged downtrend".

  • You don't hold any shares, but you're on the "bearish" side.

  • When prices fall, you make money.

  • If prices rise, you lose money; if prices rise to a certain level, you'll still be liquidated.

Important point:
What you're doing is operating on the logic of "borrowing something, selling it, and hoping to buy it back cheaply in the future."
Instead of thinking, "I have cryptocurrency, so it doesn't matter if the price drops."

Fourth, the most common source of problems is a severe mismatch between "ideas" and position sizing.

A phrase that many people often say:

"I was sure I made the right prediction, so why am I still losing money/getting my account wiped out?"

Most of them are due to these types of mismatches 👇

Mismatch 1: Talking about "long-term bullishness" while actually holding high-leverage long positions.

Common process:

  1. you say:

    "I am bullish on this coin in the long term."

  2. In practice, however:

    • 20x long positions right off the bat

    • Want to "capture a long-term upward trend"

  3. result:

    • A normal level callback in the middle

    • The price hasn't fallen to the level where your original prediction failed.

    • But your deposit was wiped out first.

They say they're "bullish in the long term".
The strategy employed is "short-term high leverage + extremely low tolerance for error".

The direction is right.
The tools and the timeline don't match at all.

Mismatch 2: Saying "bearish" but just holding onto long positions and stubbornly holding on.

There is another one:

  1. You start doing more

  2. As the market weakens, you're already thinking:

    "It feels like it's going to fall; it's a bit dangerous."

  3. But if you don't close your position or reduce your holdings, it simply means:

    • Browsing images every day

    • Keep an eye on the margin call price

    • I comforted myself with various reasons: "Wait a little longer, it will rebound."

This is called:

My mind has already "bearish".
However, the position is still on the "upward" side.

The result is:

  • Identify the risks correctly

  • But dare not do the right movement

  • Finally, I used contracts to push myself to the point of margin call.

Mismatch 3: Targeting a short-term pullback, but opening a "large-scale short position".

for example:

  • What do you think:

    "There is short-term pressure here, and a pullback of 3%–5% is possible."

This is a short-term bearish outlook.
But your invoice looks like this:

  • Use higher leverage

  • No stop loss set

  • Want to catch a bigger wave of decline

result:

  • The market is just experiencing a minor correction.

  • They quickly returned to their original direction.

  • Instead of closing your position, you thought, "Let's wait and see, maybe it will fall back down."

The final result is often:

  • I didn't profit from the minor pullback.

  • The big rebound was wiped out

What you're seeing is actually just "a small part of the rhythm".
However, the position used was one that "bets on a large market move".

V. So how exactly do we align our "views" with our "long/short contracts"?

In the future, you can use a three-step framework to decide whether you want to go long or short:

Step 1: First, figure it out—

What time period are you looking at for price fluctuations?

  • What about the next few hours?

  • What about the next few days?

  • Or even longer?

Without a clear cycle, everything is in chaos.

Step Two: Ask Yourself Again—

Do you want to do "trading" or "hedging/locking in"?

  • If you are purely trading:

    • Entrance point

    • Stop loss level

    • Profit/Loss Ratio

    • Leverage ratio

    • Position size

    • Then you need to consider:

  • If you are just hedging/locking in your position:

    • You are not "shorting the market".

    • You are buying insurance for the physical goods you hold.

    • I have many spot orders.

    • To hedge against a short-term decline, use short contracts to cover part of the losses.

    • for example:

    • That logic is completely different:

Even though they are both short positions, the purposes are different, but the meanings are completely different.

Step 3: Finally—

What tool is the most appropriate way to express this viewpoint?

You can sort them like this:

  • Focusing only on medium- to long-term price movements, and avoiding high-frequency trading:
    → Spot / Low-leverage long contracts

  • There may be a short-term pullback, but the overall trend remains unchanged.
    →

    • Only reduce positions/take profits

    • Alternatively, use a small position and a short-term short contract to make a small trade.

  • Want to gamble on a rapid decline:
    → Short positions + clear stop-loss + strict position control

The key is:
Don't let your "opinions" and "positions" go their separate ways anymore.

VI. A few tips for you (especially for contract beginners)

  1. First, learn to express "bullish" sentiments using spot trading.
    Consider using long contracts to amplify the gains.
    At least with spot trading, you won't be taken advantage of just because your judgment is a step behind.

  2. When I first started trading contracts, I only allowed myself to use small positions with low leverage.
    Focus on:

    • A review of the logic behind correct/incorrect interpretations

    • Entry/stop-loss execution
      Instead of focusing on "If I opened with 50x leverage, my profits would have multiplied several times by now".

  3. Do not use "I am bullish/bearish" as a reason for placing an order.
    The real reason for closing the deal needs to be upgraded to:

    • In which timeframe am I bullish/bearish?

    • At what price point will I prove I was wrong?

    • If this trade goes wrong, how much will I lose? Can I withstand the loss?

As long as you can explain these steps clearly
Your long or short position in a contract is no longer just an "emotional expression".
It is a truly planned operation.

You can read this sentence again:

"Bullish/bearish" is the thought in your mind;
"Long/Short contracts" represent your position based on margin and leverage.

Many people lose money not because they keep getting the direction wrong,
Rather, it's because:

  • A serious mismatch between perspectives and tools

  • Severe mismatch between cycle and leverage

  • A serious mismatch between defense and offense

(Trading for Beginners 101) This series
It helps you break down these seemingly simple yet consistently misleading concepts one by one.

If you are already using contracts but frequently encounter this situation:

  • I feel that my direction is correct.

  • In reality, things get chaotic as soon as the choice between long and short positions comes up.

  • After closing the deal, I couldn't even explain what I was doing.

Then come find me.
I can trace the entire chain from "viewpoint → cycle → purpose → tools → position".
I'll help you organize a set of logic that suits you.

As for whether you can transform yourself from an "emotionally driven novice who goes long or short" in the future...
Become a "trader who knows why he or she is positioned the way he or she is".
It all depends on whether you're willing to truly take responsibility for every single position you make.