Recently, I went through a round of trading groups, and the screen was full of screenshots — but no one was showing profits. Instead, there were record of liquidations after margin calls. Someone lost 17,000U in one go; at the beginning of the year, they still had sufficient funds, now they’ve lost even the principal. I’ve heard stories like this too many times. Before each market cycle starts, I always remind about the trend direction, but some people insist on betting against the market, ultimately becoming victims of volatility.

**Leverage as a weapon, volatility as a deadly agent**

The big crash in October 2025 saw Bitcoin drop nearly 30% in one day, with 1.6 million traders on the network liquidated, totaling a loss of $19 billion. This is not a low-probability event — it’s a systemic risk release. Many use 20x, 50x leverage, dreaming of a quick turnaround, but when the price slightly dips, they get wiped out instantly. What’s the difference? 5x leverage can withstand 20% volatility, but 50x leverage results in a game over with just a 2% drop. The higher the leverage, the closer the liquidation price is to the current price, leaving almost no room for error.

**The hurdle of stop-loss, most people can’t cross it**

I’ve seen quite a few traders who are the most exaggerated: when making profits, they call themselves “Crypto Gods,” but when losing money, they blame “whales manipulating the market,” and the one thing they refuse to admit — they never set a stop-loss. In 2025, Bitcoin fell 30% from its high of $126,000, and most of the naked positions were forcibly liquidated. Trading without stop-loss is essentially gambling on the market’s kindness, and the market has no kindness.

**Where is the capital flowing to, do you know?**

This year’s market has shifted to a new underlying logic. ETF institutional funds have become the dominant force, with narratives like RWA (Real Asset Tokenization) and AI+DePIN becoming new hot spots. But some still stubbornly chase meme coins, resulting in widespread 50% to 90% drops in altcoins. The problem is, capital always flows to places with long-term logic, not to bubbles driven by emotions. Only those who understand this can survive to the next cycle.