I've seen too many people crash in contracts, and finally I realize a cruel truth: traders who don't cut losses are just automatic ATM machines for the market makers.

Why do most contract traders end up losing everything? Honestly, market fluctuations are just surface reasons. The real killer is always that one phrase—"Wait a little longer."

I've seen accounts grow from 100,000 to 1 million, only to be wiped out in one stubborn hold. I've experienced the same despair myself: shorting against the trend during a BTC rally, planning to exit at a pullback, but getting pushed through all the way; chasing a breakout in SOL, thinking of taking profits and leaving, only to go to zero after a single spike.

The reason for every liquidation is the same—ignoring the importance of stop-loss.

After years of trading, I’ve only learned two painful lessons:

**First: Holding on once might keep you alive, but holding on forever will definitely kill you.**

**Second: The real way to protect your life isn’t how much you win, but how much you can afford to lose.**

My current trading strategy is based on three principles.

When opening a position, always set a stop-loss. The larger the leverage, the stricter the stop-loss. Use 20x leverage with a 5% stop-loss. If you can afford to lose it, accept it—don’t expect a single turnaround to reverse the situation.

Floating profits are not for fantasizing—they are for protection. Take profits and raise your stop-loss to leave a safety net, so that a retracement doesn’t wipe out all your gains.

Most importantly, control your emotions. After losing a few trades in a row, close the software and take a break. When emotions run high, your judgment becomes completely chaotic.

Using this approach in contracts always follows a low-risk, high-reward rhythm: profit when the market moves with you, and withdraw immediately when it moves against you.

In the end, stop-loss is not about admitting defeat—it's about retreating. The traders who survive are not those who never lose, but those who dare to lose, dare to retreat, and can wait for the next opportunity. The market is always there; once your capital is gone, the opportunity is truly gone.