Introduction: A trade that kept me awake at night

To be honest, when I was writing this review, my hands were still shaking.

It's not an exaggeration. It's that kind of feeling—knowing you almost made a fatal mistake, and after narrowly escaping, the physiological reaction brought on by the adrenaline wearing off.

The incident happened last week. On Tuesday night, Bitcoin fell below 66000, and I opened a long position at that level.

The position wasn't large, just 30%. But it was this '30%' that put me through the most agonizing period in the last two years over the next 48 hours.

Today I want to write down this process in its entirety. It's not about showing off, it's not about being pretentious; it's about letting you see a real retail investor who makes mistakes, hesitates, and gets up at three in the morning to watch the market, struggling in this environment.

Act I: Why did I open a long position at 66000?

First, let me talk about my 'emotional journey' at that time, because when I reviewed it, I found that this trade was emotional from the start.

That day, BTC fell from 69000 to 67000 and then stabilized. I watched the market for two hours and found a 'pattern': every time it hit around 66800, there was buying support.

What was I thinking at that time? It wasn’t 'Is there support at this level?' but rather —

"Having fallen so much, shouldn't it rebound?"

You see, this is typical retail investor thinking. It is not based on data, not based on structure, but on the instinctive reaction of 'after falling so much, it should rise.'

Plus, someone in the group shared a picture saying '66000 is the cost line for big whales, there are large players supporting here.' I believed it.

So, at around 8 PM, when BTC fell to 66100, I opened a long position with a stop loss at 65800 (thinking 300 dollars of space should be enough), aiming for 68000.

After opening the position, I took a shower, and when I came back, it had dropped to 65900.

Only 100 dollars away from my stop loss.

I stared at the screen, my heart began to race. Do you understand that feeling? It’s like you know you might be wrong, but you don’t want to admit it and want to hold on a little longer.

Act II: That sleepless night.

At 2 AM, I woke up because I needed to pee.

I groggily picked up my phone and took a look — BTC 65600.

My stop loss was breached. But what shattered me even more was that the price didn't stop and directly plunged to 65300.

At that moment, I became completely sober. Lying in bed, the light from my phone screen illuminated the ceiling, and I had only one question in my mind: should I cut losses?

According to my trading discipline, the moment the stop loss is breached, one should exit unconditionally. But my mindset at that time was like this —

"It has fallen so much, it can't keep falling, right?"

"A rebound is about to happen; cutting losses now is just cutting at the lowest point."

"I'll leave once it rebounds to 66000, at least to minimize losses."

You see, every reason sounds reasonable, but essentially it's just finding excuses to hold the position.

I stubbornly held on until 4 AM. During that time, what did I do? I kept refreshing the market software, flipping through Twitter to see if there were any positive news, asking in the group, "Does anyone know why it fell?" —

I placed my hope on external factors rather than my own decisions.

This is the most dangerous state in trading.

At 4:15 AM, BTC once again dipped, hitting 64800. My unrealized loss has reached 18% of my principal.

I stared at that number and made a decision: no more waiting, cut losses.

Not because I understood the market, but because I realized my hands were shaking. A position that causes such a strong physiological reaction is certainly one that you can't handle.

64800, I closed my long position.

In two days, I lost 15%.

Act III: How I made back the lost money.

After cutting losses, I did two things.

The first thing: turn off the market software and sleep for two hours. The second thing: after getting up, I opened my computer and wrote down every operation and every psychological activity of this trade in a memo.

After writing it out, I found a problem: the biggest mistake in this trade was not being wrong about the direction, but exceeding my psychological tolerance with the position size.

A 30% position is too large for me. The position I am suited for is within 20% — I knew this two years ago, but I forgot that day.

After realizing this, I re-examined the market.

The 64800 level broke the 'psychological defense line' of 66000, but on-chain data shows that the density of chips at this level is not high; the real dense area is around 62000-63000. In other words, if it continues to fall, there is still room below; but if it is to rebound, 64800 is not desperate enough — there is no volume, no spikes, no large-scale liquidations.

So my judgment is: the short term may continue to fall, but it may rebound violently at any time.

That afternoon, BTC hovered around 64500 for an hour. I observed that the funding rate had dropped to negative (short positions began to crowd), and the inflow of BTC to the exchange was decreasing (selling pressure was weakening).

I made a decision: to open a long position at 64500, but this time only used a 10% position.

Set the stop loss at 63800 (twice as wide as last time), and aim for 67000.

Why did I dare to enter? It wasn't because I thought 'it has fallen enough,' but because:

  1. A crowded short position means there is enough 'fuel' for a rebound.

  2. My position is only 10%, even if I stop loss, I only lose 2% of the total capital.

  3. This time entering the market was emotionless — I was calm and calculated, not gambling.

You may have guessed the result.

That night, BTC rebounded from 64500 to 66800. My long position was partially closed around 66500, making less than 10%.

This profit just covers the previous losses, with a little extra.

Act IV: What I learned from this trade.

Now that I have calmed down to review, this 'lose first, earn later' trade has left me with three lessons.

Lesson One: Never trade with a position size you can't bear.

I always thought I could handle a 30% position drawdown. But that night proved I couldn't.

How to judge if you can bear it? It's simple — if you lose sleep when in unrealized loss, frequently refresh the market, and look everywhere for 'good news,' then your position is definitely too large.

A suitable position size is one where even if you stop loss, you just think 'Oh, it got hit,' rather than 'It's over, it's over, it's over.'

Lesson Two: When emotions run high, do nothing.

My biggest mistake that day was not being wrong about the direction, but rather losing my cool when opening a long position at 66000.

How to judge if you are emotionally overwhelmed? My experience is:

  • If you find yourself 'convincing yourself' before opening a position — for example, repeatedly looking at K-lines for reasons, seeking validation in the group, telling yourself 'this time is different' — then you are definitely trading emotionally.

  • True rational trading is calm, mechanical, and devoid of any 'story.'

Lesson Three: A stop loss is not 'admitting defeat,' it is 'staying alive.'

The hours I held that position that day were essentially unwillingness to admit 'I was wrong.'

But the market doesn't care whether you are right or wrong; it only cares whether you can survive to the next opportunity.

The meaning of a stop loss is not to minimize your losses, but to keep you in the game. As long as there is still principal, there is always a chance. If the principal is gone, no technique, mindset, or strategy matters.

Act V: If I could redo this trade.

If time could turn back to that night, what would I do?

First, I wouldn't open a long position at 66000.

Not because this position couldn't be opened, but because my state at that time was wrong. For an emotional trader, the best choice is to stay put.

Secondly, if I must enter, I would reduce my position to 10%.

A 30% position is too large for me; this is my problem, not the market's problem. Everyone's risk tolerance is different, and finding a position size that suits you is much more important than finding the 'right direction.'

Third, the stop loss will not be set at 65800, but at 65300.

Why? Because 65800 was too close; it was just a psychological level, not a structural level. The real structural support is around 65300 (previous low). Setting the stop loss below the structure is more rational than placing it below a psychological level.

Conclusion: A letter to you in front of the screen.

After finishing this review, I glanced at the current market. BTC is still hovering around 66000, similar to last week.

But I know this market will never change — it will continue to surge and plummet, it will continue to make greedy people lose money, and it will continue to allow calm people to make money.

I am not a trading master; I am just a small retail investor who has struggled in this market for two years. I have been liquidated, held positions, and made some money.

The only area where I am stronger than others is that I am willing to write down my mistakes.

Not to prove anything, but because I believe: in this market, surviving longer is more important than making more money. And the only way to survive longer is to constantly learn from your mistakes.

If you are also struggling in this market, I hope my experience can give you some inspiration.

Remember: the market is always there, and opportunities are always present. But you must stay alive.

Written on March 28, 2026, BTC's current price is 66200. I currently have no positions and am waiting for the next opportunity.