Having been involved with Falcon Finance for half a year, I've experienced both gains and losses. The most worth discussing are the common pitfalls, so this time I'll lay out my lessons learned as a reference for those looking to enter.

**First Pitfall: Don't Delay KYC Verification**

Minting and redeeming USDF both require KYC verification, and I didn't realize this at first. It wasn't until I wanted to withdraw that I understood I needed to upload ID and a selfie, but the review queue was extremely long, taking a full three days to approve. Coincidentally, during these three days, BTC was rising, and I wanted to cash out some profits, but KYC held me back. Watching the market move away, you get the idea. So my current advice is: complete KYC as soon as you open your account, don't wait until you really need it.

**Second Pitfall: The Logic of Over-Collateralization Rate Is Easy to Misunderstand**

This was the most painful mistake I made. At first, I thought OCR 120% meant that collateral of $10,000 could mint $12,000 USDF, but I was proven wrong—actually, $10,000 in assets can only mint $8,333 USDF. This logic is completely opposite to traditional leverage trading and can confuse beginners. Also, the requirements vary greatly between different tokens; BTC and ETH are at 120%, while smaller tokens can go up to 150% or even higher. Before collateralizing, make sure to calculate your accounts clearly—don't just do it blindly.

**Third Pitfall: Gas Fees During Ethereum Congestion Can Eat Up Your Profits**

Once, I wanted to redeem $5,000 USDF, and the Gas fee quoted was $60. Think about it—this is a 1.2% fee, which directly ate up a week's worth of my earnings. Later, I realized I could choose different times to pay gas to optimize costs, but this is also a hidden pitfall for beginners. During network congestion, these fees can really hurt.