I traded perpetual contracts for a month: from dreaming of getting rich to being schooled by reality

Author: Rhys

Translation: Luffy, Foresight News

As the title suggests, I tried perpetual contract trading for a month. Having been involved in cryptocurrency for five years but never touching perpetual contracts, I want to share this experience in this article.

I hope that whether you are a novice trader or an industry veteran, you can gain some fresh perspectives from my story. You might laugh at my recklessness, feel awkward about my operations, or even relate to some of my experiences.

Why did I start?

To be honest, it was half out of boredom and half out of wanting to follow the current trend.

Just like many people now, I wanted to ride the "decentralized perpetual contract exchange craze"—in short, trading on specific platforms to accumulate points. At the beginning, there were mainly four platforms to choose from: Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster, and Apex.

Looking back now, maybe I should have chosen Lighter, as it still hasn't issued a token and the points campaign is ongoing. But I ultimately chose Hyperliquid because it seemed like the safest option.

A Lucky Start

My first few trades were all focused on the XPL token, and I only went long. This quickly became my fixed trading pattern.

My very first trade doubled my account. In those five minutes, I really felt like a genius, even though it was pure luck. I opened a long position with maximum leverage, didn't set a stop loss, went to sleep, and woke up to find my account had doubled. Maybe it was beginner's luck, or maybe just a lucky stupid move that happened to work.

After that, I kept trading XPL the same way: watching the 5-minute candlestick chart, making short-term trades, using full leverage, and not setting stop losses. I don't recommend this approach—it's the fastest way to lose all your money.

But beginner's luck continued, and my account kept growing.

For some background, in the community I frequent, my nickname has "Caroline Ellison Arc" after it—a tribute to her famous quote, which basically means "I don't think stop losses are a good risk management tool." Looking back, making her my trading role model probably wasn't the wisest choice.

Finding My "Secret Weapon"

The next key turning point was when I discovered the Hyperliquid liquidation alert bot on Telegram. At the time, I didn't realize that this bot would basically define my entire "trading strategy."

From then on, my Telegram became a mix of news bots and liquidation alerts. Naively, I thought that as long as I knew the reason for liquidations, I could trade smarter (spoiler: it didn't help at all).

My strategy was simple: if the bot sent out a bunch of alerts in a row, I'd open the candlestick chart and go long like crazy.

Surprisingly, this actually worked. Most of the time, I made a profit as soon as I entered; if not, I'd quickly stop out and wait for the next wave of alerts. This wasn't a smart trading method, but it was enough to get me hooked.

The Temptation of Position Size

Later, I started trading tokens other than XPL, mainly because Hyperliquid offered absurdly high leverage on mainstream coins. I realized that, in theory, I could open positions worth several million dollars. Tempting, right?

It was indeed very tempting.

But I also knew how quickly those numbers could ruin me. After a few tries, I found that my position size was growing way too fast. Reducing my position size was the smartest decision I made that week.

A Bad Day

Then, I experienced my first real loss.

By then, I was addicted: checking candlestick charts as soon as I woke up, forcing trades that didn't exist, chasing every candlestick as if they owed me money.

As you can imagine, I lost a third of my account in a single day.

It felt terrible. I closed all my positions, canceled all my orders, and decided to take a break. Although my account was still in profit overall, the excitement of making money was gone. I realized I wasn't really trading—I was gambling.

10/10: A Wake-Up Call

Guess when this loss happened? That's right, October 10th—the day the whole market crashed.

But I didn't lose money during the crash; I had already taken a hit earlier that day.

That night, my liquidation bot suddenly started going crazy with alerts—so many that I thought someone was spamming me on Telegram. The alerts just kept coming, hundreds or even thousands, sounding like a machine gun.

Then suddenly, it went quiet—Telegram automatically deleted the bot because there was too much spam.

By then, I had reopened the candlestick chart and used all my remaining funds to go long. Somehow, I caught a few perfect entry points and actually made back the third of my account I had lost earlier.

That day was absolute chaos, a total bloodbath. Some of the best traders were completely wiped out. This was the loudest wake-up call since I started trading perpetual contracts, reminding me that the market doesn't care who you are—it will eventually swallow everyone.

Reflections After 10/10

After that, I significantly slowed down my trading pace. Maybe I was scared, or maybe I was just glad I hadn't lost everything.

Honestly, being able to make back the third of my account I lost and still be here to share this experience is enough for me. Without the Telegram bot, I felt like a newbie without training wheels.

I started using strict stop losses and tried time-weighted average price orders.

So, what did I actually learn?

This month helped me clarify my trading style: I'm a short-term trader. The chaos of 10/10 and the constant reminder to "take profits and run" have shaped who I am now.

That Jim Talbot video clip about "taking profits" still plays in my head so often that I don't even want to admit how many times.

I no longer force trades. Now, I might only trade once every few days, or even once a week.

Final Thoughts

If I have to give one piece of advice, it's this: find a group of people doing the same thing as you, preferably people smarter than you. The kind who are really trading, not just posting candlestick charts for attention; the kind who will call you out when you're being reckless and remind you to take profits when greed clouds your judgment.

With people like that around, it's easier to get through quiet market days, and the joy of making money is even greater. Being with knowledgeable people keeps you clear-headed. Trading alone makes it easy to fall into a narrow mindset, and that's when you start forcing trades that don't exist.

My account is indeed profitable, but that's not the point. The real victory is not losing everything. I've learned when to stop, when to reduce my position, and when to close the chart before the market drags me down.

I'm still at it, still learning, still clicking the "buy" button, and still here sharing my story.