In the early hours, I received an urgent voice message from a friend in Jiangxi—he used $10,000 USDT to open a long position with over 10x leverage, and just a 3% pullback caused a liquidation. When I checked his trading record, he had gone all-in with $9,500 USDT without even setting a stop-loss.

This situation is all too common in the crypto world. Many people misunderstand the meaning of full position; they think "full position = lower risk," but in reality, it's quite the opposite. Poorly managed full positions can lead to faster ruin than isolated trades.

**The key to liquidation isn't actually the size of the leverage, but the size of the position**

Using a $1,000 USDT account for comparison makes this clear:

Opening a 10x leverage with $900 USDT, a 5% adverse move will wipe out the account entirely.

But if only $100 USDT is used with 10x leverage, a 50% move is needed to cause liquidation.

The problem with that friend was putting 95% of his capital into one position. Even small pullbacks become deadly.

**How to use full positions without getting liquidated? These 3 principles are crucial**

**Principle 1: No single trade exceeds 20% of total funds**

With a $10,000 USDT account, invest at most $2,000 USDT per trade. Even if you get the direction wrong, a 10% stop-loss only loses $200 USDT, which doesn't damage the principal, leaving room for a comeback.

**Principle 2: Never lose more than 3% of total capital on a single trade**

Using $2,000 USDT with 10x leverage, set a 1.5% stop-loss in advance. When liquidation occurs, the loss is exactly 3% of total funds. Even multiple wrong trades won't break you.

**Principle 3: Avoid opening positions during sideways markets; don't add to profits**

Only trade when there's a clear trend breakout. During sideways consolidation, stay on the sidelines. Never chase after opening a position, and eliminate emotional trading.

**The essence of full position is buffering, not gambling**

The original purpose of the full position tool is to allow for some tolerance of market fluctuations. But this requires light initial sizing and strict risk control.

A trader who previously experienced monthly liquidations followed these 3 principles. Over three months, his account grew from $5,000 USDT to $8,000 USDT. He once said something that left a deep impression: "I used to think full position was gambling my life, but now I realize, full position is actually about trading more steadily."

The ultimate logic for survival in the crypto space isn't about who makes money faster, but about who can stay alive longer. Traders with strict capital management and stable mindsets are often the ones who make it to the end.