In November 2023, a seasoned trader started his ultimate gamble with a capital of 500,000. Precise long positions under 5x leverage rapidly inflated the account to a peak of 4.3 million during the price explosion, with net gains still reaching 851% after various fees. This should have been a perfect finale to his investment career, but it ultimately turned into a tragedy of human nature.
The deadly three mistakes
Lack of profit-taking mechanism: When profits exceed 900%, the market has already given a clear exit signal, but the obsession with the '5 million psychological barrier' destroyed rational judgment
Risk hedging failure: Lifting hedging protection before extreme market conditions is equivalent to removing a safety belt at the edge of a cliff
Emotional trading traps: The psychological shift from 'voice trembling' to 'abnormal calmness' is a dangerous sign of traders falling into self-hypnosis
The black ten minutes
The market is always more brutal than gamblers: Without warning, a guillotine-like price spike can instantly breach all defenses. The process of account assets plummeting from 4.3 million to less than 900,000 took only ten minutes. When the liquidation alarm sounded, this 'veteran' who had experienced a 3 million profit and loss cycle ultimately chose extreme actions in mental breakdown.
Blood and tears revelations
Leverage ratio is inversely proportional to survival rate: 5x leverage means a 20% fluctuation can wipe out the account, while daily fluctuations exceeding 30% are common in the cryptocurrency market
Profit ceiling rule: When a single profit exceeds 5 times the principal, at least 50% of the profits should be withdrawn immediately
Principle of family fund isolation: Never use funds that affect family survival for high-risk investments
Psychological stop-loss line: When trading starts to affect normal life routines, one must forcefully exit the market
This lesson learned at the cost of one's legs warns us: In the contract market, surviving longer is more important than making more money. Those seemingly conservative risk control measures are, in fact, the true moat for navigating bull and bear markets. Remember, the market can take away your wealth, but it should not destroy your life—always keep a safety cushion in your 'life account' outside of your trading account.
