Having been in the crypto world for over seven years, I've watched too many people go from being passionate to disappointed and leaving. Whenever someone asks, "Why did I lose again?" I share the same four pitfalls, which are insights learned from the lessons of getting liquidated. Nine out of ten people who lose money can't escape these.

**Frequent trading is the first trap**

Many people treat trading as a gambling game, fearing that being in a cash position means losses. They watch the K-line and make dozens of trades in a day, thinking they are capturing fluctuations, but when factoring in fees and slippage, those hidden costs can shrink their principal by 30%. How can there be so many real opportunities? The more eager they are to "make a little more," the easier it is for the market to repeatedly harvest them.

**Heavy leverage is the second fatal flaw**

With a dream of "turning things around" in my heart, I took out 80% of my principal to invest in a coin and dared to use 10 to 20 times leverage. I used to know a friend who indeed made several times profit with leverage, but later he bet all his wealth on a certain altcoin, and the project team ran away with the funds overnight, leaving his account at zero. Leverage is a double-edged sword—it can double your profits, but it can also leave you impoverished overnight. If the market moves against you by less than 5%, it’s enough to get liquidated.

**Small gains should be taken, while big losses should be held onto is the third psychological disorder**

This is the easiest trap to fall into. When it rises by 5%, you can't wait to take profits, but when it drops by 30%, you still want to hold on for a rebound. Some people, seeing the key support level has broken, keep adding positions to average down, ultimately losing 80% of their capital with no chance of recovery. The market doesn't fear you taking profits too quickly, but it fears your stop-loss coming too late.

**Not having a stop-loss plan is the deadliest**

Too many people trade purely based on their feelings, never planning their risk tolerance in advance, always thinking "the trend should go as I want it to." But there is no inevitable logic in the crypto world; a piece of bad news or a sudden market crash can instantly halve your position. Not setting a stop-loss is like driving without a seatbelt—nothing happens most of the time, but one problem can be fatal.

Traders who can survive long-term around us basically regard stop-loss as an inviolable rule. It's okay to occasionally get washed out, it's better than getting liquidated. Ultimately, the logic of making money in this market is very simple: eliminate meaningless frequent trading, stay away from high leverage, master the rhythm of taking profits and stopping losses, and always maintain a respect for risk.

Protect your principal, only then will you have the chance to wait for the real profit period.