The day before yesterday, I heard a friend complain that when withdrawing USDT from a certain top-tier exchange to their bank card, the system triggered a risk control and froze all non-counter transactions. The money just sat in the account, visible but unusable. He was so anxious and asked me, "How bad is this? It's more hopeless than missing out on a trade."

Honestly, this kind of "liquidity disappearing instantly" experience is indeed more suffocating than a 50% market drop. When the market drops, you can at least cut losses; with risk control, you have no chance to sell.

In my years in this circle, I've seen many such situations. Most root causes point to the same issue—contaminated fund flows. What does that mean? Simply put, your account might have come into possession of illicit funds. For example, stolen money that has gone through several transfers and finally landed in your name. Once law enforcement traces the chain, all accounts involved could be frozen and investigated.

But don’t be too pessimistic. Most situations can be resolved. As long as you can provide transaction proof, chat records, and legitimate income certificates, and cooperate with the bank’s investigation process, the chances of unfreezing are quite high. The key is—you need to have these proofs. More importantly, instead of fixing things after the fact, it’s better to build defenses beforehand.

Based on these years of lessons, I’ve summarized some practical operational rules. Follow them to significantly reduce the risk of falling into traps:

**Rule 1: Use a separate account for deposits and withdrawals**

Never use your salary card or mortgage-paying card directly for trading. These cards are linked to your daily life liquidity, and once risk-controlled, the consequences can be severe. My approach is to open a dedicated savings account solely for crypto transactions, with a low balance most of the time. Even if this card gets frozen, it won’t affect other funds. This is risk isolation—seems like extra effort, but it’s a necessary defensive measure.

**Rule 2: Counterparty must be traceable**

Don’t be tempted by small price differences after the decimal point. Before choosing a trading partner or channel, consider several aspects: Is the other account newly registered or does it have a history? Are their transaction records stable over time? Do they have endorsements from acquaintances? Or choose platforms that have stood the test of time and have a relatively stable reputation. Chasing cheap prices often costs more in the end—this is a hard lesson learned.

**Rule 3: Self-check before withdrawing**

Before hitting the "withdraw" button, review your recent fund sources. Are all funds from legitimate income or transactions? Are there suspicious large transfers? If unsure, try transferring within the platform first and observe for a while before considering withdrawal. It sounds cautious, but this caution can protect you comprehensively.

Liquidity in the crypto market is indeed tempting, but the premise is that funds can flow freely. Once frozen, you become a passive spectator. Instead of later negotiating with banks and platforms, it’s better to develop these habits now. Trust me, this is the most cost-effective insurance.