Honestly, this morning I almost got completely hit by FOMO. Seeing a certain platform pass KYC, and knowing that the Alpha IPO launch was scheduled for the afternoon, the group was full of voices saying "small funds can also double," I got carried away and started preparing funds.

From being full of anticipation to decisively stopping myself, it only took me 3 hours. The final tally was a loss of 30U, but I don't regret it at all—on the contrary, I think this tuition fee was worth it because I learned the deadly traps in small fund IPOs.

**Event Recap: From eager anticipation to a cold shower**

The plan was simple: raise funds → enter the market → participate in IPOs. But execution revealed problems one after another. First, withdrawing money from the wealth management account was delayed due to facial verification issues, costing me 10U in interest. I didn't react immediately and pushed on, even mortgaging assets to exchange for stablecoins. Only after transferring to the target platform did I realize the real trouble—wallet systems were a mess, and the IPO process was ridiculously complicated.

After finally completing secondary verification and raising all the funds, just as I was about to make the final push, two "stop-loss signals" suddenly woke me up like alarms.

**First Signal: Platform technical issues**

Extra verification needed for withdrawals, repeated transfer failures, frequent interaction lag—these seemingly minor problems actually hint at a risk—potential systemic vulnerabilities in the platform's technical or operational systems. Once your funds are in, whether you can get them out smoothly becomes uncertain. This uncontrollable risk is simply not worth gambling on.

**Second Signal: Personal mindset has become seriously unbalanced**

I started to use non-liquid funds, ignore risk warnings, and keep investing to avoid "losing money." This is a typical unbalanced state. Any decision made in this state is likely to lead to more mistakes. When your mindset collapses, it becomes very difficult to operate rationally.

**Core logic of small fund IPOs**

The most important lesson I learned in 3 hours and with 30U is: stop-loss isn't about waiting until you're bleeding heavily, but about decisively exiting when risk signals appear.

Many small fund participants fall into a misconception—"I've already invested so much, if I don't participate, I'll lose." This logic is fundamentally wrong. You've already incurred costs due to process delays, interest, and capital depreciation. Continuing to push on only uses larger losses to "compensate" for what has already happened. That's gambling, not investing.

The correct approach is: withdraw at the first sign of risk. Sudden platform lag, withdrawal delays, verification difficulties—all are warning lights. You need to learn to recognize these lights and immediately stop operating.

The hype around IPOs in the crypto market will come and go, but your funds and mindset are truly irreplaceable resources. Protecting these two is more important than chasing every opportunity.