Recently, I saw someone in the community struggling with this question again: "With 2000 bucks of principal, should I do spot trading or open contracts?"

Honestly, there’s no absolute answer to this kind of question. Because trading styles depend on individual risk tolerance and psychological resilience.

Among traders I know, there are two typical counterexamples. One is an experienced trader who only does spot trading, repeatedly accumulating Bitcoin and Ethereum. During the market’s lowest point last year, when everyone was taking losses, she started building positions gradually. I asked if she was afraid of further decline, and she showed me her account directly: "All small, multiple purchases; if it drops, I add a little more; if it rises, I sell one-third. This way, I can sleep well." By sticking to her spot strategy, she turned her initial capital into 40 times over three years. Her words were: "Although slow, it will never overnight return to the pre-liberation level."

The other person took an extreme route. She’s more familiar with the contract interface than her phone’s home screen. Using 10x leverage as her basic operation, she dares to open 20x. When the market is good, her daily earnings exceed what most people make in three months. I’ve even seen her turn 2000U of principal into a 150,000 account, and she cheered loudly in a bar at the time.

But this kind of glory didn’t last two months. Later, she chased three consecutive contrarian trades with high leverage, lost control of her positions, and got liquidated in just three days. The account was wiped out. She herself was quite philosophical about it: "Contracts are essentially a game of risking life for money. If you dare to play, you must accept the possibility of losing everything."

After being in this market for a long time, those who truly make money rarely choose only one path. The strategies of experts are generally consistent: use most of the funds for spot trading as a base and for stable income, maintaining a steady pace like the first friend; then, when clear opportunities arise, allocate small leveraged contracts to catch swings, taking quick profits and exiting immediately. A balanced approach of stability and risk-taking is necessary.

My advice is straightforward: first, ask yourself if you can withstand your account being wiped out overnight. If you can handle this psychological pressure and your technical skills are solid, then you can try contracts. But if you just want to make steady money and are afraid of losses causing insomnia, the safest choice is to focus on spot trading.

What’s the biggest fear? Seeing others make money and blindly following, or opening contracts recklessly without understanding the market. People like this often have chaotic rhythms. In the crypto world, if you don’t understand strategies or lack a plan, you really won’t get far.

No matter which direction you choose, the most important thing is to be clear about your own strength and psychological bottom line—don’t push yourself too hard. Because only by staying alive and keeping an account can you seize the next real market opportunity.