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The $8.5 Million Binance Futures Trader Who "Doesn't Understand" Trading's Growth Journey

2025-06-25 23:39

Read this article in 23 Minutes

Every person has their own formula, as long as it can consistently produce results, it is a good system.

With just a mobile phone, he scalped $8.5 million on the Binance futures leaderboard, equivalent to about 62 million RMB, with a single ETH contract earning a net profit of $5 million.

His ID is "If I Don't Understand" (hereinafter referred to as "Don't Understand"). The reason for this name is simply that when he registered his account, he recalled CZ's saying, "If you can't hold, you won't be rich." He said: If I don't understand these things, how can I qualify to make money? He wants to remind himself with this name that he needs to have a comprehensive understanding before drawing conclusions.

On June 24, this rarely seen top trader appeared in Binance's Chinese live broadcast room and chatted with SiSi about his growth experience "beyond the leaderboard."

Not a player focused on traffic, not packaged by a team. Many people think that those who can reach the top of the leaderboard are either exceptionally talented or have had great luck. However, after listening to his sharing, everyone discovered that "Don't Understand" is more like the type of naturally talented player: he ponders over challenges, immediately reviews mistakes, and always has a sharper sense and self-reflection than others. This is the first impression that "Don't Understand" teacher left on everyone.

From an ordinary internet worker to a futures trader on a journey, and now to a low-key leaderboard champion, this path is not a myth, but a continuous process of trial and error and repeated corrections. At the same time, an undeniable factor is that "Don't Understand" teacher has never given up his main profession, which has laid the foundation for his later capital accumulation.

If you only look at the results, you might think this is a victory of extraordinary talent; but if you have seen the repeated liquidations and the nights of starting over behind his account, you will understand that the so-called "King of Contracts" is actually an ability slowly accumulated over time.

How did he go from knowing nothing to step by step becoming the Binance Contract King?

1. Into the Mist: Ordinary Person, Crypto World, Binance

"Don't Understand's" entry was no different from most people.

His main job was an internet professional, and he early on got involved in the crypto world purely out of curiosity.

His initial capital was not much, he bought mainstream coins, participated in on-chain projects, made quick profits, and also lost his initial investment.

He chose to do futures on Binance for a simple reason: the best liquidity, any order he placed was executed, deep order book, no worries about slippage.

For an ordinary person trading futures, the platform's liquidity and order matching experience almost determine whether they can catch a major market move in the end.

In the first few years, he mostly stayed on the fringes of the market, neither getting too involved nor fantasizing about getting rich quick. He enjoyed researching the market in his own way.

When others were discussing hot projects, he usually spent time pondering the underlying logic instead of rushing to follow the trend.

Most of his trades were learned through trial and error. Whether he made a profit or a loss, he accepted it all, knowing that no one could bail him out. He experienced several fund drawdowns in the early days, where a single misjudgment could wipe out the profits of the past few months.

This trial-and-error process was not particularly dramatic, but for most traders who survived later on, it was a necessary stage to go through.

II. On-chain Trial and Error, Cultivating Market Feel

For most people, their initiation into the crypto world involved dipping their toes with small amounts of money. Being "clueless" didn't make much of a difference. When he first entered the space, he was still working at an internet company, and his monthly salary was his main source of income. The money left over at the end of each month, which he was reluctant to spend recklessly, was used to buy mainstream coins or participate in on-chain projects. At that time, smart contracts were merely a distant high-risk zone for him, with his actual principal mostly locked up on the blockchain.

"In the early days, I mainly focused on on-chain projects, airdrops, GameFi, and NFTs. I would join in on the hype. Mainstream coins were more stable, while GameFi and new chains were more thrilling. Sometimes I made more money, sometimes I lost a bit, but as long as my main job was intact, my mindset remained stable. During those years, my capital slowly grew from three thousand to several million through on-chain activities, and I always maintained a relatively restrained pace."

Smart contracts were a different world of rules for him. Initially, he only dared to use small amounts of money to try out trades, with each contract being a lesson on how to lose money. "With enough funds and capital, I was able to manage positions in parts, using small amounts of capital to navigate all market situations. There were liquidations, and I spent a very, very long time each day studying the candlestick charts to hone my market sense and experience." This was also a point he repeatedly emphasized in the early days: the contract market in the crypto world is a place where you risk your capital without hands-on experience; it's hard to understand how significant the risks are.

"Relying on diligence and research in the on-chain space, I didn't lose much money on most projects, but smart contracts were an entirely different story." He recalled that his mindset for every early contract trade was simple: if the amount wasn't significant, if it got liquidated, so be it; if it made money, he would treat himself to a nice meal. It was precisely because of this relaxed attitude that he made fewer major mistakes than many newcomers. His main job supported his on-chain activities, which, in turn, supported his contract trading. He always kept his positions and mindset flexible, giving him the qualification to make long-term trial-and-error attempts.

III. Contrarian ETH Trade, A Legendary Move

In this contract trading competition, one of the most attention-grabbing moves made by "Don't Know" was his open and bold decision to long 40,000 ETH contracts amid widespread pessimism about ETH in the market.

He elaborated on the overall profit composition of this round of contracts during the livestream: The notional take-profit of this ETH trade was $7.5 million, after accounting for previous drawdowns and rebalancing, the final net profit was around $5 million, with a settlement profit of $7 million. Additionally, in the first half of May, his short-term extreme short position on ETH contributed $1 million in profit, while the remaining $2 million came from other trading strategies, bringing the total profit for the contract period to $8.4 million.

The significance of this ETH long position lies in the fact that it occurred at an emotional extreme point. Nearly everyone in the market was bearish on ETH, with the mainstream view believing that the trend was weak, possibly even reaching a new low. However, during this time of uncertainty, "Don't Understand" decisively entered a visible long position of 40,000 ETH. His decision-making logic was based on the resonance of signals across multiple dimensions:

1. Continuous Inflow of ETF Funds: He noticed that at that time, ETH's ETF had seen continuous net inflows for over ten days, with the inflow intensity outperforming BTC across multiple timeframes.

2. Approaching Event Expectation Turning Point: Grayscale's Ethereum Trust ETF was entering a key window, and after June 2nd, the SEC could release results at any time, setting the stage for a potential "pinning" rally.

3. Technical Analysis Resonance: ETH experienced a significant volume surge at the daily level. Combining this with ETF and other indicators, the ETH/BTC ratio was plummeting directly, indicating a high probability of further rebound.

4. Sentiment and Market Feel Analysis: He pointed out that in terms of short-term market sentiment, ETH was notably stronger than other cryptocurrencies, often displaying a state of eager anticipation for funds to enter.

5. Structural Advantage and Positioning: From a technical standpoint, ETH's position at the monthly level was still weaker than all other coins (BNB/SOL). At the daily level, it had not broken below the low point. If not for BTC dropping below 102,000 and giving the main players an opportunity to pin at 2,380, the surge in ETH would likely have occurred earlier.

6. Clear Logic Focus: "Don't Understand" always emphasized that watching whether BTC could hold steady was crucial for ETH, as this ETH rally stemmed from BTC's new high rather than a strong fundamental rebound in ETH. It followed a buying logic similar to an ETF, and on-chain fundamentals such as GWEI were still at a minimal level. Even the recent ETH surge to 2,850 was due to BTC failing to hold at 110,000; if it had held, the push to 3,000 would have been highly possible, but achieving a new high would have been challenging.

7. Market Philosophy: He has mentioned on multiple public occasions, "If everyone can see the direction of the trend clearly, then why are only a few making money in this circle?" This time, he chose to ignore the overall sentiment of the market, placing his own perception on the line with real trading.

During the live broadcast, he added that this kind of heavy position operation is never impulsive. Moreover, once a BTC retracement or key level breakdown occurs, he will quickly adjust without emotionally holding onto the position.

Four, How to Understand Money-Making Clues

There are many signals in the market, but very few are truly valuable. The vast majority of people believe that they can find a winning formula based on technical indicators and various candlestick patterns. After several years of not understanding, they gradually abandoned indicator worship, preferring to believe in the data itself and the details of the market.

He likes to review the large fund flows on the chain, observe the changes in holdings by whales on Binance, pay attention to ETF fund inflows and outflows, on-chain staking unlocks, and large transfers in established projects. The logic of mainstream coin markets is actually very clear: when large orders actively buy in, when the market shows abnormal orders, and what kind of fluctuations are "wash trading" or "whale reshuffling," these details are more reliable than any "magical indicator."

Event-driven trading is the most important part of his trading. Almost every real opportunity originates from core events inside and outside the industry, such as ETF approval, a shift in US stock market liquidity, or significant contract changes on-chain. These things can only be reflected promptly on a platform with sufficient depth and timely information feedback. As the world's most liquid spot exchange, Binance is naturally the main venue where structural changes are most sensitive and easily observed.

He has gradually formed his own trading habits: lurking at key points in advance, judging the intentions of the whales through reviews; not easily buying high and not changing the overall direction due to market noise; when encountering major events, prioritizing logic and risk-reward ratio, preferring to miss out rather than blindly follow the trend.

Market data, market structure, and event-driven factors have become the underlying basis for his trade selection, position sizing, and adjustments.

Those who truly capture major market movements do not rely on rumors or short-term trends but are able to calm down and thoroughly dissect every signal.

Five, Survivor Takes All

To outsiders, looking at the trading leaderboard may have a mysterious filter. However, in "not understanding"'s view, being able to climb out from numerous accounts is not due to talent, nor is it the legendary luck, but rather the introspection and self-control in real trading time and time again.

The truth of the crypto world is actually very simple: everyone can have one win, but very few can hold onto profits and survive through bull and bear cycles. Especially in markets like Binance, where there are many skilled traders and rapid changes, any luck and speculation will be promptly corrected by the market.

He admitted that the real pressure did not come from liquidation, but from the anxiety of continuously facing the risk after the account curve reached a high point. The later it got, the more he realized that every decision, every position had to be extremely restrained. As the account size grew, the heartbeat caused by market fluctuations also amplified, and any overconfidence or relaxation could undo all previous efforts.

He no longer blindly pursued maximum leverage, nor did he indulge in the thrill of doubling. Instead, he put the most effort into position management, stop-loss execution, and risk control. The larger the fund, the more conservative the strategy, preferring to earn less but live longer.

Many of his peers around him, the vast majority, fell due to emotional turmoil and lack of risk management. Some became overconfident after making huge profits, some couldn't stop chasing quick gains, and in the end, they all handed back their principal to the market.

"He didn't understand" always reminded himself that a ranking was just the result of a stage, not the end. Only by focusing on the process, discipline, and mindset could he weather the next round of storms.

Rather than calling him the king of contracts, it is more accurate to say that he is a survivor who has lived through the right timing, conditions, and people.

Many people attribute being number one on the list to talent or luck. In reality, those who can make it to the end are the ones who can push themselves to evolve in every cycle. While the outside world sees the title of a "genius trader," he himself believes more in, "as long as you can persist in learning, dare to admit mistakes, keep a cool head, anyone is qualified to stand in this position."

Six, Some Suggestions

"He didn't understand" said that his trading style was gradually developed through actual combat and review sessions. Everyone's formula is different, as long as it can consistently match the results, it is a good system.

He emphasized that momentum judgment relies on monitoring the market, position control looks at volatility, leverage selection should follow the trend of the currency, and not chase a uniform template. Before entering a position, he tends to observe conservatively, and once confirmed, he acts decisively. He would rather miss out if he can't get in and does not chase rallies. Moreover, it is essential to improve one's main job, establish a stable capital moat, use idle funds for investment, use a small amount of money that does not affect life to engage in actual combat, improve cognition and experience to hold the line.

As for whether futures trading is suitable for you, he was very direct: "If you don't even have your own profitable logic, don't touch futures for now."

He has experienced a chain of blows from 3700 to 890 and has had the experience of going for five days without sleep, watching the market day and night until liquidation.

Now, his trading principle is very simple:

Respect the market, withstand anything that may happen, and prepare in advance for all contingencies.

This sentence, which he gave to everyone as advice, is also the reason he can stand where he is today.

Disclaimer:

This article is for industry exchange and experience sharing only, and does not constitute any investment advice. The views in the article represent the author's personal stance only and are not related to the platform. The information in the article is not intended as investment, financial, legal, accounting, or tax advice, nor does it constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation for any digital asset. Digital assets (including stablecoins and NFTs) are highly volatile and involve high risks. Please evaluate carefully based on your own situation before investing. For professional advice, please consult your legal, tax, or investment advisor. Readers are encouraged to understand and comply with relevant local laws and regulations at their own risk.