How a stop-loss works in crypto futures, and where it can fail
What a stop-loss order is, why traders use it, and the situations where it does not protect you as expected.
What it does
A stop-loss is an order that closes a position when the price reaches a level you chose, so a loss stays limited. In futures it is usually a stop-market order: once the price touches the level, the exchange sells or buys at the best available price.
The point is to decide the maximum loss before entering, not while the market is moving against you.
Where it can fail
Fast markets can jump past the level, so the fill is worse than planned (slippage). Thin coins slip more than large ones. Exchanges can also be slow or unavailable in extreme moments.
Leverage makes this more serious, because a small move is a large percentage of the margin. Liquidation can happen before you react.
Why it connects to what we publish
Closing losing trades early is a core idea in how we trade, and our behaviour section on the home page shows how long losing trades are held compared with winning ones, using our own closed trades. It describes what happened. It does not promise it will continue. This is a record of our own account, not advice. Leveraged trading can lose more than you expect, quickly. Read the risk notice.