+$26K in a single day on x75 (Jan 2025). Currently in drawdown YTD. Here’s how I size on the way up and how I protect on the way down.

Been trading leverage crypto since 2019. Three cycles, two bear markets, plenty of liquidations in the early years before any of this clicked.

Honest numbers from my career so far:

– Best single day: +$26K (January 2025, alt season)

– 2019 – 2025 overall: profitable

– 2026 YTD: in drawdown

– Style: scalping x50–x75 on high leverage exchange, holds from 5 min to ~2 hours ~ 1 day

Most threads here tell you "x75 is suicide, use x5, low leverage is the way". I've heard it for 7 years. It's the wrong framing. Here's the rule that makes high leverage viable and the technique that turned my biggest day into +$26K instead of +$5K.

Rule: leverage is not the risk. Position size relative to your stop is the risk.

x75 with a 0.5% stop puts ~0.5% × position size at risk. x10 with a 4% stop puts 4% × position size at risk. Same size notional, the x10 "safe" trader is risking 8x more per trade. Blown accounts almost never get blown by the leverage itself — they get blown by oversizing relative to the stop.

Pair it with: adapt sizing to volatility.

This is what separates +$26K days from drawdown weeks. Same setup, different market conditions = different size.

– BTC range-bound, low ATR → scale up on x75, stop ~0.4%

– BTC moving 1.5%+/hour, news flowing, high ATR → cut size by 60%, wider stop, switch to x25

– Pre-FOMC / CPI / NFP → no leverage trades at all

When I forget this, I get hurt. Most of my YTD drawdown is two news-driven moves I caught in the wrong size. I knew better. I did it anyway. Edge erodes fast when you ignore your own rules.

Now the part that turned my biggest day into +$26K instead of +$5K.

Most people take their target and exit. That leaves the actual money on the table. When the move runs in your direction and you're at the desk, do the opposite:

1. Scale in as the move continues. Add lots on every confirmed continuation, not on hope. The trend has to keep proving itself.

2. Take partial profits along the way. TP1 / TP2 / TP3 instead of all-or-nothing. You're locking in cash AND letting size run.

3. The moment your position is large, switch your stop to a trailing stop. Non-negotiable. Without it you're one wick away from giving back everything you built. With it you keep the upside and cap the downside automatically.

That's the entire trick of "letting winners run" without giving them back. Most people either exit too early or let the whole position implode on a reversal. The trailing stop is what makes the high-leverage scale-in viable.

Why x75 over x10 with bigger size:

1. Capital efficiency. Small margin per trade, the rest stays parked in BTC / stables. If a trade dies you lose the margin, not the working capital.

2. Tight stops force discipline. With a 3% stop on x10, you have room to "hope". With a 0.5% stop on x75, the trade is right instantly or it's wrong. No mental bag-holding.

What's not in this post:

This does not work without real TA experience. If you can't read structure, order flow, volatility x75 will eat you. I had two terrible years before any of this clicked. Win rate matters less than R:R: mine sits ~40% / ~3:1. People obsess over hit rate and blow up.

Drawdowns are part of the job. I'm in one right now. The task is to size them small, not revenge trade, and let the system play out.

Going to keep documenting trades here through this drawdown the goal is to come out the other side with the journal showing what worked, what didn't, and why. Not trying to sell anyone on x75. Just sharing what's actually working for me.