On X, a cryptocurrency trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio with over 110,000 followers, posted a recap of his recent long position in SOL on the social media platform X yesterday (24th). He detailed his entry point, the mistakes he made, and the thought process behind his eventual correct decision to cut losses in a timely manner. The following is a translation of his trading recap for investors' reference.
Trading Recap: Long SOL (December 17 to 21)
This will be a slightly different analysis, where I will explain in detail my entry point, the mistakes I made, and how I made the right decision to minimize my losses.
Entry
After perfectly capturing the short-term upswing in Bitcoin from $102k to $107k, I decided to extend my long position to SOL and the Solana ecosystem. My entry point provided me with a moderate risk-reward ratio (r/r), specifically: long $220 SOL, $2.75 WIF, and $0.037 BONK. This was based on the strong performance of SOL in the short term and the success of my previous trades.
When Bitcoin started to reverse and decline around $108k, I disliked the underperforming meme coin longs, so I implemented a stop-loss strategy and accepted those losses. (This was the right process!) However, I did not close my SOL long position, but instead increased my position from $20 million to $30 million, leading to Mistake 1.
Mistake 1: Failure to Cut Losses Timely
One of my strengths is that I am usually able to quickly close positions that have lost momentum, to avoid further deterioration. However, this time, I chose not to cut losses at $215, even though I believed the market might see a downward move after the FOMC meeting. Ultimately, bias prevailed over logic - my psychological price level was the $200 key support, and since I was too close to it, I did not want to be "chopped" while trying to capture a 5% move.
When SOL reached the $200 support, I further increased my position from $30 million to $45 million, believing the risk-reward ratio was optimal within the long-term support range. I did not consider this a mistake, but it certainly made the already precarious trade even worse.
Mistake 2: Disregarding the Stop Loss
When SOL broke below $200, the most rational choice would have been to close the position as per the plan. However, I chose to hold the position because by that point, my position had become so large that if I closed it, it might have triggered further price decline to $190, leading to a market collapse. I also briefly fantasized about a short-term bounce after the support was breached, which was a very dangerous mindset.
Furthermore, after the price broke below $200, I again added leverage in the $187 to $193 range, further increasing my position to $60 million (with a total leverage of 1.2x). This was clearly a wrong decision, but as you can see, the mistakes had already accumulated. Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not materialize, and I did not suffer a massive loss.
What I Did Right
After reflection, I ultimately decided to cut losses when the unrealized loss was around $7-8 million. I reduced my position by 70% at $193, which gave me cash to prepare for bottom-fishing, and I successfully entered ETH, ENA, PEPE, and WIF near the final low.
Trade Conclusion
Ultimately, my unrealized loss was $6.2 million, a 10.2% loss. Since then, I have executed 13 trades with a 100% success rate, essentially making up for the previous loss.
I believe this is a very good example of how a trade can start out wrong and then just keep getting worse. Fortunately, I was able to navigate my way out, which allowed me to remain calm and execute precisely when the market bottomed.
However, this was the largest single-position loss on this account, and it is a lesson I will long remember.
Merry Christmas, folks.
