In the early hours, a trader who has been in the industry for two years suddenly called, his voice full of despair: all in with 10,000 USDT shorting the account, just a 3-point pullback and it was wiped out.

At that moment, there was a silence for a few seconds. Not because of shock, but because this story is too common—I've experienced the exact same scene years ago.

Back then, like many others, I firmly believed that "heavy positions are the true faith," thinking that only those willing to push all their chips forward are real traders. And what happened? A single pullback, and the account was gone, along with the faith.

Looking at his trading record: he entered with 9,500 USDT full margin, without even setting a stop-loss order. A typical case of "dying from courage."

Many people have a misconception that to make big money, you must bet your entire net worth. In fact, the opposite is true—those who do so are often the closest to zeroing out. Full-margin trading is like holding a knife to your neck—once the market moves against you, without anyone lifting a finger, the market will automatically take your account.

Let me give a specific example: with a principal of 1,000 USDT, if you use 900 USDT with 10x leverage, a 5% drop in price will directly wipe out your account. But with a different approach, using only 100 USDT with the same 10x leverage, the market would have to drop 50% before liquidation. The difference here is not a technical issue but a matter of "survival space."

Over the past two years, after repeated lessons from the market, I have gradually summarized a few rules for survival:

**Single trade no more than 20% of total funds** — even if you stop out, it’s just a small wound, not a fatal one.

**Never lose more than 3% on a single trade** — even if you’re right about the direction, leave yourself some room to breathe, don’t gamble your life.

**During volatile market swings, prefer not to trade** — you don’t have to make all the money, but your principal must stay alive.

In the year I operated with this logic, the market experienced three major liquidation waves. But my account was never wiped out; instead, I steadily grew from 70,000 USDT to nearly 500,000.

Later, that trader also rebuilt his position following this method. After three months, he sent another message: his account doubled. This time, he finally understood what "steady growth" really means.

The reality in the crypto world is like this: you can’t control the ups and downs of the market, but you can fully control your position size. To earn more, you first need to learn how to lose more prudently. Don’t always think about getting rich overnight; avoid zeroing out overnight first. Those who survive are already slowly compounding their gains.