When I first got into crypto, I always thought spot trading was simple: if you like a coin, you buy it; if it goes up, you sell it—anyway you won’t get liquidated, so it should be way easier than futures. At the very least, it shouldn’t lead to liquidation.

Back then, once I actually traded spot for a while, I realized that even though it doesn’t force liquidation, it’s still tough on people. The most common situation is: when prices rise, you’re afraid of missing out, so you can’t resist chasing in; when prices fall, you can’t bear to cut losses, and in the end you turn what was supposed to be a short-term trade into a long-term investment. Capital efficiency drops significantly.
Now when I trade spot, I set myself a few simple rules first:
First, don’t use all your funds at once to buy. Even if I’m very bullish on a coin, I’ll enter in batches, keeping some U on hand so I have room to adjust when the market pulls back.
Second, figure out why you’re buying before you buy. Is it because you genuinely believe in it long-term, or because of short-term catalysts and events? Or are you just buying because you suddenly saw it pump? If you can’t even clearly explain your reason for entering, chances are you’re just being carried by emotions.
Third, decide in advance when you’ll sell. Many people only research how to buy, but never think about how to exit. Then when it rises they complain they made too little, but when it falls they wait to break even—ending up riding the whole roller coaster.
Fourth, don’t constantly rotate coins. Today you see AI hype and chase AI, tomorrow meme pumps and you switch to meme. It looks like you’re catching opportunities every day, but in reality you’re often transferring your buying power to become the exit liquidity for people who already got the gains.
To be honest, I increasingly feel that the hardest part of spot trading isn’t picking a coin that will go up—it’s controlling position sizing, emotions, and expectations. The market brings new opportunities every day, but not every opportunity needs to be taken.