In the past couple of days, the story of ZEC's "first long positions" has sent chills down people's spines—2.4 million dollars in unrealized losses, once a glorious 12 million on the books, now shrunk to the point of having nothing left. What's worse is that his liquidation price is stuck at 474 dollars, while the current price of ZEC is 520, with less than a 10% fall in between.

Many people are watching this number for excitement, but the three things that really deserve contemplation are:

**First thing: Big players crash, retail investors following them is a death sentence**
The opening price was $559, and he has directly lost 1.16 million on paper now. The issue is not that he made a wrong judgment—everyone can misjudge at times; the problem is that many retail investors rushed in without understanding the situation. Large investors at least have the advantage of capital and information to hold on, but if retail investors blindly follow, they are just serving as speed bumps, getting thrown off during the first wave of a fall.

**Second thing: unrealized gains are just air if not cashed out**
From 12 million to now less than 1 million, this drop is even worse than a mining disaster. The biggest illusion in the crypto world is treating the numbers on paper as real money; today it triples, but tomorrow it could be cut in half and go to zero. Remember a hard rule: only the money in your pocket counts; the numbers on the screen can evaporate at any time. Being soft-hearted when it's time to take profits will only leave you watching your gains turn into a joke.

**Third point: Retail investors' way out is not to catch the bottom, but to avoid self-sabotage**
ZEC has now rebounded to 520, and many people are itching to buy the dip again. But look at the liquidation line of the big players at 474—once it falls below that, a chain reaction of liquidations could happen in minutes. Retail investors should not gamble on a rebound at this time, but rather engrain risk control rules into their DNA: don't let a single asset position exceed 10% of your principal, and if the stop-loss line is hit, just run; don't bet against the market.

There is no perpetual motion machine in the cryptocurrency world, nor is there an undefeated myth. It is not terrifying when large accounts get liquidated; what is terrifying is that retail investors are still dreaming of "lying down to win." The fairest aspect of the market is that it will use real money to teach a lesson to everyone who does not respect risk.

To live longer, one must recognize the reality - independent judgment is more important than following others, controlling risks is more important than chasing gains, and taking profits in time is more important than faith. If these three cannot be achieved, even in a bull market, it will still just be giving away money.