There's a saying I now understand very well—many people only wake up after a liquidation.

In these years of trading derivatives, I've seen too many people who are proud when they make money, only to be wiped out and return to zero after a single liquidation. Speaking of which, 90% of the time, the principal is lost not because of market conditions, but because from the moment they entered, they had no concept of stop-loss. Almost all liquidation stories start with the phrase "just a little more time."

I myself haven't been immune. Both BTC and SOL have been liquidated because I held on stubbornly, and HOT, SUI positions are even more complicated. At the time, I thought the pullback was an opportunity, but it turned out I was among those harvested by the market makers.

Later, I realized that stop-loss is nothing fancy—there are only two principles. The first is that you must set a stop-loss before opening a position, and the stop-loss distance should be inversely proportional to leverage—if you're using 20x leverage, you should accept a maximum loss of 5%, and cut your losses quickly without hesitation. The second is that profit management must be dynamic—once you make a profit, raise your stop-loss level; the market may retrace, but your profits shouldn't all be wiped out.

There's also a detail that's often overlooked: after losing three trades in a row, you should step back and stay calm. When you're on a winning streak, you should also prioritize withdrawing profits and locking in gains. Ultimately, stop-loss is never about admitting defeat—it's a survival tool. Opportunities in this market are always present, but the prerequisite is that you are still alive and have capital in hand.