I still remember the first time I entered the contract market. I only had 8,000 USDT in hand, and in a moment of impulsiveness, I opened 100x leverage to try and hit it big. As a result, the market gently shook, and in fifteen minutes, half of my position was gone. Sitting in front of the screen at that moment, my heartbeat was pounding like drums, my eyes fixed on the flashing red numbers, and my mind went completely blank.

It was then that I realized—liquidation is not an accident; it’s the market’s most gentle welcome gift to newcomers.

Since then, I’ve learned to respect the market. I no longer dream of overnight riches, and I don’t let emotions place my trades. Only then did I truly understand that contracts are not gambling; they are an art of risk management.

In the crypto world, I’ve seen many such people: making a little money and thinking they are chosen by fate, only to get liquidated every few days; others lose sleep over their losses, staring at the screen until 4 a.m., only to be swallowed by their own emotions in the end. They all fail to understand one principle—the true experts spend most of their time waiting. Seventy percent of the time, they stay in cash looking for opportunities; thirty percent of the time, they find the right rhythm to go all-in, and one successful move can bring in a clean profit.

Last year, I caught a wave of SOL’s market movement using the Bollinger Bands indicator. While others blindly watched the K-line, I focused on the rhythm: when the Bollinger Bands contract, it’s a sign of buildup; when they expand with volume, an opportunity is coming. I entered in batches at the lower band, with stop-loss set at the previous low. That move alone multiplied my capital thirty times in three weeks. This isn’t about prediction; it’s about discipline holding up against the market.

Now, I have three ironclad rules engraved in my mind, unshakeable:

1. Never lose more than 2% on a single trade
2. Make no more than two trades per day
3. When floating profits reach 50%, withdraw the principal immediately to preserve capital

It sounds rigid, but it’s precisely this rigidity that has kept me alive in the crypto world until now. The market is never short of those willing to take risks; what’s lacking are those who can survive. If you’re still trading based on emotions and being led by the market, stop and calm down. The essence of contracts has never been about quick profits; it’s about surviving long enough.