That moment, the screen flickered, and BTC dropped again. My risk buffer measures instantly proved useless. After adding to my position, the average entry price is now stuck at 91,030, but it's less than 8,000 points away from the liquidation price. Watching the oversold indicator on the 4-hour chart hit 17, I know how rare this number is, but all I can do now is pray: Please hold steady, don't fall further.

This kind of decline doesn't resemble a normal shakeout; it’s more like a meat grinder. Hundreds or thousands of accounts are passively "getting wiped out." Are you also watching the charts, sweating at your fingertips, secretly calculating how much more you can endure?

But every time I review a sharp drop, I ask myself the same question: Why do I always put my positions on the edge of a cliff? Why gamble the entire account on the next K-line?

A seasoned trader who experienced 312 and 519 once said something that enlightened me: "A bull market is a phase for accumulating assets, not for opening high-leverage positions to prove trading talent. The core positions should be stable enough to let you sleep peacefully, regardless of how the market fluctuates."

How to achieve this? He gave a three-word answer: Collateralize.

Don’t misunderstand—it's not about mortgaging your house. He’s talking about certain DeFi protocols that offer "self-collateralization and stable yields." This logic is completely different from the high-leverage contract trading I’m doing now; they belong to two different worlds and dimensions.

One amplifies gains with leverage but also amplifies risks; the other generates stable cash flow through asset collateralization. The former is suitable for traders with ample time and psychological resilience; the latter is better for investors who want to ensure asset appreciation during a bull market without their heartbeat racing.

This isn’t to say contract trading shouldn’t be done, but it’s a philosophical issue of core asset allocation. 99% of your assets should sleep soundly, and the remaining 1% is for testing and trying out new strategies.