In the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market has once again staged a "harvesting show": total contract liquidations across the network reached as high as $229 million. Among them, long positions were wiped out by $169 million, while short positions were liquidated by $60.54 million. Bitcoin contributed $60.85 million in liquidations, followed by Ethereum with $39.36 million.

The most heartbreaking part is that all of this happened during a mild market decline, with Bitcoin only dropping 0.71% and Ethereum just 0.20%. What does this indicate? It shows that the true killer of liquidations isn't a sharp drop, but rather fragile psychology under high leverage.

Why is a volatile market especially easy to "harvest" retail investors? The answer is simple — leverage + emotional stress combined. Look at Bitcoin now, repeatedly tugging between $95,000 and $100,000. Many retail investors are holding onto the dream of "winning in a bull market," recklessly increasing leverage to go long at high levels, some even going all-in.

It sounds aggressive, but in reality, it's extremely fragile. Institutions only need to lightly shake the market to trigger your stop-loss. What happens next? A chain reaction begins—one liquidation triggers another, and finally, institutions buy up your positions at low prices. As the weekend approaches, risk-averse sentiment further amplifies volatility, and this "pig slaughter scheme" arrives without warning.

So how can ordinary investors survive? The answer is quite simple — a few iron rules:

First, avoid using leverage over 5x. Really, betting on short-term fluctuations with leverage is like playing a probability game with your life savings.

Second, whether going long or short, set a stop-loss. Once triggered, exit the market—don't hold onto false hope. The market is always colder than you think.

Third, if your risk tolerance is limited, just stay away from contracts. Switch to spot trading and hold long-term; this is the right approach for ordinary people to survive bull and bear markets.

In the long run, Bitcoin's halving cycle logic remains unchanged, and the trend of institutional entry is also intact. The current volatility is more like a "deep squat" before a bull market, gathering strength. But in the short term, the market still needs to digest the previous gains, and Bitcoin is expected to continue oscillating between $90,000 and $100,000.

In such a market, blind optimism is more dangerous than a decline. Only by respecting the market and practicing cautious risk management can you ultimately succeed in this wealth race.