At 3:17 AM that day, Xiao Wang stared at the phone screen, his hands trembling so much he couldn't hold the cigarette.
The account balance changed from "128,563.27 USDT" to "17.43 USDT".
He didn't cry, didn't curse, and didn't even close the app.
He just kept refreshing, praying that this was a bug.
Until the cold, icy liquidation notice from the exchange popped up —
"Due to insufficient margin, your position has been forcibly liquidated by the system."
At that moment, he finally understood:
He was not fighting against the market, but against his own greed, fear, and illusions.
And from the very beginning, he was destined to lose this battle.
## Act One: All tragedies start from "reasonable little greed"
Little Wang isn't a gambler, nor is he desperate to bet everything.
He's just an ordinary programmer, earning 20,000 a month, wanting to make some extra milk money from crypto.
I first got into futures because someone in the group shared a chart:
"Opened a 10x BTC long, made 3 times yesterday's salary in 3 hours!"
All the comments were:
"Awesome!"
"We made a killing this time, bro!"
"Seeking guidance from the big shots!"
Little Wang was tempted, but he didn't dare to go all in.
He took 20% of his account and opened a 5x leverage.
On the first day, he made 12%, and he happily shared a screenshot in the group.
The next day he made another 8%, and people in the group started calling him "The Futures Prince."
On the third day, he adjusted his leverage to 20x.
The reason is simple: "Since I've made some, why not make more?"
You see, 99% of liquidated people didn't start out wanting to "bet everything they have."
They all started with "reasonable little greed," slowly walking towards the abyss.
After making their first pot of gold, they only have one thought in their minds:
"Since I'm already right, why not make more?"
## Act Two: The market's retaliation is never "sudden."
The harsh truth about leverage trading is:
When it's rising, it makes you feel like a genius.
When it drops, it leaves you with nothing.
Little Wang had a 20x long position on BTC, and it started off smoothly.
His unrealized profits once surged to 38%, and he was already planning to "pay off the mortgage early" in the group.
Then, the market started to pull back.
First, it drops 2%, and the account loses 40%.
Little Wang thought: "Normal fluctuations, just hold on."
If it drops another 3%, your account loses 60%.
At this moment, someone in the group starts shouting: "The whales are washing the positions!"
Little Wang added to his position, increasing to 25x leverage: "Since it dropped this much, it's actually an opportunity!"
If it drops another 5%, the margin rate falls to 3.2%.
The system begins the countdown: "47 minutes left until liquidation."
At that moment, Little Wang only had one thought:
"Just hold on a bit longer; maybe it will rebound."
He didn't even think: "What if it doesn't rebound?"
99% of liquidated people make the same mistake:
They think they are "withstanding pressure,"
In fact, they were just "betting that tomorrow won't be worse."
## Act Three: The deadliest thing is your refusal to admit "you were wrong."
30 seconds before liquidation, Little Wang still held onto the last shred of hope.
He even posted on social media:
"That's just how futures work; hold on and win."
Then, the screen went black.
Account goes to zero.
The most terrifying moment isn't losing money.
But he realized: he couldn't face reality at all.
He started looking for excuses:
"The platform has issues!"
"It's the whales manipulating the market!"
"It's because I didn't time it right!"
They just refuse to admit the cruelest truth:
I'm just an ordinary person, I can't handle the counter fluctuations of 20x leverage.
There's an open secret in crypto:
Over 90% of futures players ultimately lose money.
But what really causes them to lose everything isn't insufficient skills or lack of information.
But they refuse to admit:
"Leverage trading is essentially a psychological game."
The more you try to prove "I can do it,"
The more you think you can prove yourself, the more likely you are to bet everything.
## Act Four: Why do "smart people" easily get liquidated?
Do you think only "gamblers" get liquidated?
Wrong, the smarter someone thinks they are, believing they are "rational" and "skilled,"
Instead, the more intelligent they are, the more likely they are to fall hard.
Because they have a fatal weakness:
**Overconfidence + Perfectionism.**
They will think:
"Others get liquidated because they lack skills; I have skills."
"Others lose because they lack information; I have insider knowledge."
"Others can't hold on because they lack mental strength; I can hold on."
The result is:
They might have been right 10 times, but on the 11th time, when the market turns, they stubbornly keep adding to their positions.
They were informed 3 times, but on the 4th time they stepped on a landmine, they thought it was a "black swan."
Withstood 5 retracements, but the 6th one led directly to liquidation.
The tragedy of smart people is:
They treat past successes as a talisman for the future.
But they forget the only rule of the market is:
**No pattern can last forever.**
## Act Five: Those who truly survive are doing these 3 things.
99% of people in crypto won't last more than 3 months.
1% who have survived for over 3 years,
Their difference isn't IQ, luck, or information channels.
But it's 3 pieces of understanding:
### 1. Always only use "money you can afford to lose."
Those who can withstand liquidation don't necessarily have a strong mindset.
But they never brought "money they can't afford to lose" to gamble.
Ask yourself 3 questions:
- If this money is lost, will it affect my eating and sleeping?
- If this money is lost, how long will it take to make it back?
- If this money is lost, will it disappoint your family?
As long as there's 1 "yes," don't touch leverage.
### 2. Always set a "mechanical stop loss."
99% of liquidated people share a common trait:
Their stop-loss line depends on "mood."
Those who truly survive have their stop-loss lines set in stone:
"Margin rate below 15%, close the position immediately."
"If daily losses exceed 5%, exit the market that day."
"If the unrealized loss exceeds 30% of the principal, I unconditionally accept defeat."
There's no option to "just hold on a bit longer."
Because they know:
The market is always right; your emotions are always wrong.
### 3. Always put the idea of "proving yourself" back into real life.
Crypto isn't a place to prove how great you are.
It's just a tool used for making money.
Trying to prove they're smart, they go to work, start businesses, or take exams.
If you want to prove you can endure, go work out, learn, or spend time with family.
The only thing to prove in futures trading is:
**Can you control yourself and not act recklessly?**
## A letter to those who are hesitating.
If you still have money in your account, haven't opened a leveraged position, and haven't bet everything on a "sure-up new coin,"
Please do 3 things right now:
1. Close the app for 10 minutes, go grab a coffee or drink some water.
2. Open a notepad and write down your maximum acceptable loss.
3. Tell yourself: "I don't need to get rich overnight; I just need to avoid going to zero overnight."
The biggest trap in crypto isn't about losing all your money.
But it makes you completely lose control of your life before you lose everything.
If you are reading this,
At least it shows: you still have a chance.
Put down your phone,
Tomorrow is still a new day.
You still have a chance to be the one who can control themselves.
And not become "just another liquidation case" in someone else's story.
