Today, this BTC “big bullish candle” has once again put holders who are reluctant to sell in a real squeeze. Up 11 points in a day, and once it breaks above 72,000, that inner struggle in my account comes back. Sell? I’m afraid I’ll sell and then it keeps going up. Don’t sell? I’m afraid it will pull back, and this level doesn’t look low anymore either. When it goes up you want to sell, but if you don’t, you’re afraid—this is the deadlock every holder can never untangle.
I’m way too familiar with this kind of torment. In 2023, I went through the same thing. When BTC climbed to just over 30,000, I panicked about a pullback and sold half, thinking I’d lock in some profit. But it kept marching all the way to 45,000. When it came time to buy back, I couldn’t bring myself to—while not buying made me miserable every day. That feeling was more torturous than actually losing money. Later on, not long ago, I took out a loan in USDC by pledging BTC on TermMax, and I finally realized there’s a third path besides selling or holding until death.
The logic is very simple. The coins are still kept in the protocol as collateral, and they’re still yours—so if the price rises, you still benefit. The borrowed USDC is in your hand. If there’s a real pullback, you have money to top up; if there isn’t, you don’t lose anything—you just pay some interest. In plain terms, you pay a bit of interest to gain the flexibility to act either way.
This market move clearly shows the advantage. Today it rallied 11 points. The USDC I borrowed didn’t move a cent; the upside from the coin price didn’t diminish at all, and I’m still holding a chunk of cash in reserve. If it truly dips, I can top up right away.
It’s basically two different worlds compared to the time when BTC was 30,000 and I sold too early, fearing I’d miss the run.
But this isn’t free. You have to pay interest when you borrow. If the coin price goes sideways or drifts down, the interest becomes pure expense—your position bleeds slowly every day. You need to accept that cost. Also, collateral comes with a liquidation threshold. With BTC’s volatility, when it crashes, the liquidation won’t be polite—never set your collateral ratio at the maximum. And topping up sounds easy but is hard in practice. When it really drops, will you dare to add margin? How much will you add? That’s a test of human nature. Don’t assume that just because you have USDC, you’ll definitely do the right thing.
My own habit is: for most of the time, I just leave the borrowed USDC sitting there, as备用子弹 (backup ammunition). Only when the market truly gives an opportunity does it make sense for that USDC to come out. Otherwise, I treat it like paying for peace of mind.
Have you ever sold too early on BTC and then missed out? What did you do in the end? #termmax @TermMax
I’m way too familiar with this kind of torment. In 2023, I went through the same thing. When BTC climbed to just over 30,000, I panicked about a pullback and sold half, thinking I’d lock in some profit. But it kept marching all the way to 45,000. When it came time to buy back, I couldn’t bring myself to—while not buying made me miserable every day. That feeling was more torturous than actually losing money. Later on, not long ago, I took out a loan in USDC by pledging BTC on TermMax, and I finally realized there’s a third path besides selling or holding until death.
The logic is very simple. The coins are still kept in the protocol as collateral, and they’re still yours—so if the price rises, you still benefit. The borrowed USDC is in your hand. If there’s a real pullback, you have money to top up; if there isn’t, you don’t lose anything—you just pay some interest. In plain terms, you pay a bit of interest to gain the flexibility to act either way.
This market move clearly shows the advantage. Today it rallied 11 points. The USDC I borrowed didn’t move a cent; the upside from the coin price didn’t diminish at all, and I’m still holding a chunk of cash in reserve. If it truly dips, I can top up right away.
It’s basically two different worlds compared to the time when BTC was 30,000 and I sold too early, fearing I’d miss the run.
But this isn’t free. You have to pay interest when you borrow. If the coin price goes sideways or drifts down, the interest becomes pure expense—your position bleeds slowly every day. You need to accept that cost. Also, collateral comes with a liquidation threshold. With BTC’s volatility, when it crashes, the liquidation won’t be polite—never set your collateral ratio at the maximum. And topping up sounds easy but is hard in practice. When it really drops, will you dare to add margin? How much will you add? That’s a test of human nature. Don’t assume that just because you have USDC, you’ll definitely do the right thing.
My own habit is: for most of the time, I just leave the borrowed USDC sitting there, as备用子弹 (backup ammunition). Only when the market truly gives an opportunity does it make sense for that USDC to come out. Otherwise, I treat it like paying for peace of mind.
Have you ever sold too early on BTC and then missed out? What did you do in the end? #termmax @TermMax
