3 a.m., the notification sound jolted me awake. On the screen was a barrage of urgent calls—a buddy who’s been trading contracts for two years, sounding completely lost in his voice message:

"Bro, help me! I had $10,000 in my account, opened a 10x long, the price only dropped less than 3%, how did I get liquidated?"

I looked at his position screenshot: 9,500 USDT all-in, stop-loss? Doesn’t exist.

A lot of people treat "cross margin mode" as a safety net, thinking a bigger account means more room to withstand losses. The reality is the opposite—if you don’t understand cross margin, you’ll get wrecked even faster than with isolated margin.

**1. Why does cross margin get wiped out instantly? The issue isn’t leverage**

Let’s do the math. Say you have $1,000:

- Case A: Use $900 for a 10x position, a 5% move against you wipes the account;
- Case B: Use only $100 for a 10x position, it takes a 50% drop to get liquidated.

My buddy put 95% of his funds in, 10x leverage and heavy position—one little market hiccup and it was game over.

**2. My three iron rules for surviving with cross margin for half a year with no liquidations**

**▶ Cap each trade at 20% of your funds**

If you have $10,000, never risk more than $2,000 per trade.

Even if you pick the wrong direction and hit a 10% stop loss, you only lose $200. Your capital’s still intact, and you can always adjust your strategy and bounce back.

**▶ Limit each loss to a max of 3%**

For example, if you use $2,000 for a 10x position, set your stop loss at 1.5% in advance. If triggered, you lose $300—exactly 3% of your total capital.

Even after a few losing trades, you’re still in the game, and your mindset stays solid.

**▶ Don’t trade in sideways markets, don’t add to winners**

Only trade clear breakout trends; resist the urge to enter during choppy periods.

After opening a position, never average up—don’t let emotions hijack your judgment.

**3. The essence of cross margin: It’s a buffer, not a casino table**

Cross margin is designed to give you room for error during price swings. But the prerequisite is: small positions to test the market + iron-clad risk management.

I had a group member who used to get liquidated every month. After strictly following these three rules, he grew his account from $5,000 to $8,000 in three months. Later, he told me:

"I used to think cross margin was gambling with my life. Now I realize it’s about surviving more steadily."

In this market, it’s never about who makes money the fastest—it’s about who survives the longest.