There is no shortage of shooting stars in the crypto world; what is truly rare are those that can shine for a long time. Behind the glamorous stories of wealth, there are many silent quitters.

At 2 a.m., the phone ringing broke the silence. It was a newcomer who just entered the market last year, voice hoarse and hurried: "I got liquidated. Fully shorted with 6,000 yuan, just a 5% rebound and I went to zero."

I suddenly became alert—not because I was shocked, but because this story sounded so familiar. Three years ago, I also wrecked my account in the same way. Putting all my chips on a so-called "bottom," only to find that the bottom never came, and my account was completely wiped out.

He sent a screenshot: 5800 yuan all-in with 20x leverage, stop-loss completely blank. This is a typical "bet everything on the direction," and the market will never spare such gamblers.

**The real thing that defeats you is never the chart**

I told him this: "You didn't lose because of market judgment; you lost because of that impulse—the urge to go all in with your chips."

To put it another way: you have 100 bullets, and before the enemy even shows up, you empty your magazine. After 30 seconds of thrill, what then? The opponent is still standing, and you become the living target. Experienced traders don’t do this—they shoot in groups of three, miss, then retreat to the defensive position—only alive can participate in the next battle.

That’s how the crypto market works. Many newcomers fall into the FOMO (fear of missing out) trap, rushing in at the high points, then being pushed out by FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt), and cutting losses at the lows. The root of losses is never complicated; it’s always driven by emotion-based decisions. I’ve been there myself—losing thousands in a single night when I first entered, simply because I couldn’t accept the reality of losses and was unwilling to cut.

The market will teach you many lessons, but the tuition is often very expensive.