89% of futures traders are liquidated in their first month. Here is what the 11% do differently. When I first started, I thought the only way to lose money was by getting the direction wrong. I’d bet on $ADA at 50x, see it climb, and watch my balance stay flat or drop. I blamed the charts. I blamed the market makers. I didn't realize I was being bled dry by the machinery of the exchange itself. Think of trading fees and funding rates like a toll road that charges you every time you blink, whether you’re driving toward your destination or backing into a ditch.

Let’s look at the math that keeps you broke. Say you enter a $10,000 position on $BTC. Exchanges often charge a 0.05% taker fee just to open, and another to...