This is a very critical issue!

Many people make mistakes with long positions, not because the direction is wrong, but because the stop-loss is set incorrectly, either too close and gets triggered, or too far and incurs significant losses.

Below is a practical answer suitable for cryptocurrency contract traders, especially those who trade BTC/ETH swing positions and short-term trades:

Long position stop-loss, how to set it?

Principle 1: Technical stop-loss, not psychological stop-loss

The stop-loss level should always be set at the point where the technical structure breaks, rather than being set randomly based on "feeling."

Common long position stop-loss references:

Set below the previous low: If you open a long position at a clearly defined support level,

then the stop-loss position should be placed below the "previous low," at least allowing normal fluctuations of the candlestick.

Example: If you go long at a support level in BTC (such as a 4-hour support line),

you should set the stop-loss 2-3% below that support level.

Set below the key moving average: For example, if you go long based on the 4H MA60 support,

the stop-loss should be set just below the MA60,

effectively telling the market: "As long as it does not break this trend support, I will not exit."

Set after breaking important structural points:

For instance, previous bottom of a consolidation range, areas of high trading volume, or important horizontal lines.

Once it effectively breaks down, changing the trend structure, you should accept your losses and exit.

Set a 'volatility stop-loss' based on ATR: For example, if the recent average volatility is 500U, and you are making short-term long trades, then the stop-loss range should at least accommodate 1 times the ATR to avoid "normal fluctuations getting triggered."

Principle 2: Risk management stop-loss

Regardless of how the technical points are selected, the amount of loss per trade must be controllable!

General advice: Limit the stop-loss to within 1%-2% of the total account funds.

For example, if the account has 10,000U, do not exceed a single stop-loss of 100-200U.

It is better to have small losses multiple times than to blow up with a single heavy loss.

Principle 3: Once the stop-loss is set, do not change it casually

The most common human error: When the market quickly approaches the stop-loss point, suddenly moving the stop-loss down,

thinking "let's wait a bit, maybe it will rebound"... as a result, the losses keep increasing, and in the end, you get deeply trapped.

Once the stop-loss is set, if you can't hold on, accept it!

Final statement: The stop-loss is not meant to lose money, but to stay alive.