Over the past few years of navigating the crypto market, I've seen enough liquidation stories to fill a book.

Recently, a friend messaged me privately, with only a few thousand USDT left in his account, asking if he can still turn things around. Someone else is even worse off, with just a few hundred USDT, unsure whether to keep going. Honestly, every time I see messages like these, I think of a brother.

Let's call him Lao Lin. Three summers ago, his account balance shrank from 200,000 to a four-figure number in less than three months. During that time, his trading was a textbook example of the opposite of good practice — bullish? Full position. Bearish? Panic sell. His mind was only focused on "must quickly recover." And the result? Getting liquidated became a regular occurrence.

The day he came to me, he looked like he had lost his soul. "Am I beyond saving?" he asked.

I told him honestly: "What has never saved you is not the bull run or insider information, but your own trading system."

And then we started climbing back.

**First thing: Stop bleeding**

I told him to close all his positions. Stay away from the market data for a full three days. Don't even install any trading apps on your phone. The remaining funds, only use 20% to test the waters. Why? Because this isn’t the time to make money — it’s the time to learn not to lose money. If your account can hold up, your mindset can gradually stabilize.

**Second thing: Stop trading on impulse**

I set strict rules for him. Only trade Mainstream Tokens like BTC and ETH; avoid all those obscure alts he’s never heard of. Before opening a trade, he must answer three questions: What’s the reason for entering? Where’s the stop-loss? What’s the target price?

And after each trade, he must write a review note.

After sticking to this for a month, he even laughed: "I wasn’t wiped out by the market before — I was destroyed by my own impulsiveness."

**Third thing: Principal is life, profit is ammunition**

This is a principle I keep emphasizing.

Only when you make money can you increase your position size; during losses, you must immediately reduce your scale. Even if you win several trades in a row, you should force yourself to rest for a day — because most people get carried away during winning streaks, then end up wiping out everything.

Use profits to aim for bigger gains, but always lock the principal in the safe.

Does this method sound simple? It is. But very few people can actually do it. Lao Lin spent half a year, and his account went from four figures back to five figures. Now, he’s already recovered his principal and is even in profit.

If you’re currently at the bottom, remember: small funds are not a disadvantage; impatience is. Take it slow, survive, and opportunities will always be there.