These days, I've noticed the funding rates are starting to become extremely volatile again, and in the group, a bunch of people are shouting "counterparty open up," which actually makes me a bit nervous. To be honest, when the rates are ridiculously high, shorting and paying the fee can be quite profitable, but if you can't withstand that sudden spike, your entire effort goes to waste. As a small retail trader with a diversified wallet, I'm most afraid of a single wave of volatility taking out multiple positions at once.

Right now, I lean towards two approaches: either try a very small counterparty position to test the waters, set a stop-loss, and keep the rest of the funds hidden; or just not participate at all, and wait until the rates normalize. Especially now with all the hype around AI Agents and automated trading—being able to interact on-chain and run everything with one click is pretty cool, but if security can't be guaranteed, it's better not to force it. I'd rather earn a little less than risk my permissions and private keys as bets.

What I’ve learned isn’t a technique, but this: when you see an “opportunity,” first ask yourself if you can survive long enough for it to pay off.