From 15,000 yuan to zero: a four-hour nightmare of a crypto novice.

The red light on the phone screen flashed like an alarm, accompanied by the automatic disappearance of my positions, ultimately freezing at a chilling number in my account: 0.0000313426..USDT. I slumped in my chair, feeling cold all over, my ears buzzing. The eight thousand yuan in my account that was continuously shrinking just moments ago had completely gone to zero in an instant. All of this stemmed from my foolish 'persistence'.

Frantic position opening - 'Last chance before takeoff!'

Four hours ago, I saw that unknown altcoin soaring on the gainers list, ranking in the top five, with the group full of cheers like 'Take off!' 'See you on the moon!' The FOMO (fear of missing out) emotion ignited me like a fire. After less than ten minutes of 'technical analysis'—which was really just looking at a few KOL's calls—I opened a position at $1.25 with a full allocation of ten thousand yuan, leveraging 5 times.

'Take a gamble, turn the bicycle into a motorcycle!' I excitedly rubbed my hands together, as if I could already see profits waving at me. I didn't even think about setting a stop loss seriously; I just casually placed it at $1.15, a position I thought 'absolutely couldn't fall to.' All I thought about was profit; risk? What is that?

Struggling to hold positions - 'Technical correction, it will bounce back immediately!'

Good times don't last long. After soaring to $1.3, it suddenly turned down, and a large bearish candle fell without warning, instantly approaching my stop loss.

But at that moment, I hesitated. 'If I stop loss now, I'll lose over three thousand, that's too much. This must be a washout; it will bounce back soon!' The lucky mentality completely overcame my reason. I quickly canceled the stop loss order and decided to 'hold on'. I kept looking for bullish comments in the group to comfort myself, telling myself this was a 'bullish reversal' and an opportunity to get on board.

Desperate averaging down - 'Lower the cost, get back to breakeven and leave!'

However, the market gave me a hard slap. The price not only didn't rebound but accelerated downward: $1.1, $1.0, $0.9… my unrealized losses kept growing.

Fear and unwillingness made me lose all judgment. A more terrifying thought emerged: averaging down! At the position of $0.9, I injected the last five thousand yuan of living expenses and added to my long position again. 'Lower my average price to $1.1, as long as it rebounds to $1.0, I can break even!' This thought, like a drug, gave me a fleeting hope but dragged me deeper into the abyss. My total position became heavier, and my risk exposure was enormous.

The final liquidation - 'It's over, it's all gone…'

The market gave me no opportunity. Bad news suddenly came, the price plummeted, and it fell like free fall into the abyss: 0.8, 0.7, 0.6…

Position alerts started to pop up crazily with 'Insufficient margin' warnings. My heart raced to my throat, my fingers were cold, and my mind went blank. I wanted to do something, but I couldn’t do anything anymore. The next second, my email received a notification of forced liquidation, declaring the end of everything.

Summary and reflection: how did I gradually approach liquidation?

These 4 hours were the most expensive lesson I bought with real money. I summarized the painful lessons:

Core reasons for liquidation and mistakes in operation:

Lucky mentality, refusal to set stop loss: this is the root of all evil. I viewed stop loss as a 'loss' rather than a 'cost' and 'protection'. Attempting to use fantasy to counteract market trends is undoubtedly fatal.

Averaging down against the trend, compounding mistakes: continuing to add to losing positions is one of the most fatal mistakes in trading. This is not about averaging down costs, but about amplifying errors; essentially, it's fighting against the trend, akin to continuously adding weight to a leaky sinking ship.

Full position operation, ignoring risk: full position + high leverage left me defenseless against normal market fluctuations; even a small reverse fluctuation was enough to be fatal.

Led by emotions, plans were zero: throughout the process, my actions were completely driven by greed, fear, and unwillingness, and all trading plans (if any) were thrown aside.

How to avoid liquidation? - Survival iron rule.

The first thing when opening a position is to set a stop loss: a stop loss is your 'lifeline', not a decoration. It must be based on objective analysis (such as support levels and volatility) and once set, should never be revoked or moved.

Never average down on losing positions: if the market proves your judgment wrong, the only option is to decisively stop loss and exit. Never add a single cent to a losing position.

Test with small positions; never gamble with a full position. Use funds you can afford to lose for small position testing, and add to your position when the trend is favorable. Surviving is more important than making quick profits.

Trade your plan, plan your trades: before the market opens, calmly write down when to buy, how much to buy, when to sell, and how much to lose. Execute like a robot during trading, eliminating all impulsive emotional actions.

Now, I look at that zero. Although it's painful, I'm also awakened. The market is always right; the wrong ones are my greed and lack of discipline. This tuition taught me one thing: in this market, the ones who can survive are not the smartest, but the 'fools' who respect the market the most and adhere to discipline.
Finally, Orange wants to say: the tragedy of liquidation is caused by holding positions against the trend and relying on luck to average down. Remember: always set stop losses when opening positions, never add to losing positions, and keep your position size small for survival. Respect the market; discipline is the only talisman to survive bull and bear markets.
Writing is not easy, please give a follow, and I wish all bosses can thrive in the crypto world and make a fortune!#BTC #ETH #杰克逊霍尔会议