diff --git a/.github/copilot-instructions.md b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
index 99a6357..25fce5d 100644
--- a/.github/copilot-instructions.md
+++ b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
@@ -1496,6 +1496,81 @@ trade.realizedPnL += actualRealizedPnL  // NOT: result.realizedPnL from SDK
     - **Verification:** After restart, check logs for "Found 0 open trades" (not "Found 1 open trades to restore")
     - **Lesson:** status field is for classification, exitReason is for lifecycle management - both must be set on closure
 
+37. **Ghost position accumulation from failed DB updates (CRITICAL - Fixed Nov 15, 2025):**
+    - **Symptom:** Position Manager tracking 4+ positions simultaneously when database shows only 1 open trade
+    - **Root Cause:** Database has `exitReason IS NULL` for positions actually closed on Drift
+    - **Impact:** Rate limit storms (4 positions × monitoring × order updates = 100+ RPC calls/second)
+    - **Bug sequence:**
+      1. Position closed externally (on-chain TP/SL order fills)
+      2. Position Manager attempts database update but fails silently
+      3. Trade remains in database with `exitReason IS NULL`
+      4. Container restart → Position Manager restores "open" trade from DB
+      5. Position doesn't exist on Drift but is tracked in memory = ghost position
+      6. Accumulates over time: 1 ghost → 2 ghosts → 4+ ghosts
+      7. Each ghost triggers monitoring, order updates, price checks
+      8. RPC rate limit exhaustion → 429 errors → system instability
+    - **Real incidents:**
+      * Nov 14: Untracked 0.09 SOL position with no TP/SL protection
+      * Nov 15 19:01: Position Manager tracking 4+ ghosts, massive rate limiting, "vanishing orders"
+      * After cleanup: 4+ ghosts → 1 actual position, system stable
+    - **Why manual restarts worked:** Forced Position Manager to re-query Drift, but didn't prevent recurrence
+    - **Solution:** Periodic Drift position validation (Nov 15, 2025)
+    ```typescript
+    // In lib/trading/position-manager.ts:
+    
+    // Schedule validation every 5 minutes
+    private scheduleValidation(): void {
+      this.validationInterval = setInterval(async () => {
+        await this.validatePositions()
+      }, 5 * 60 * 1000)
+    }
+    
+    // Validate tracked positions against Drift reality
+    private async validatePositions(): Promise<void> {
+      for (const [tradeId, trade] of this.activeTrades) {
+        const position = await driftService.getPosition(marketConfig.driftMarketIndex)
+        
+        // Ghost detected: tracked but missing on Drift
+        if (!position || Math.abs(position.size) < 0.01) {
+          console.log(`🔴 Ghost position detected: ${trade.symbol}`)
+          await this.handleExternalClosure(trade, 'Ghost position cleanup')
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    
+    // Reusable ghost cleanup method
+    private async handleExternalClosure(trade: ActiveTrade, reason: string): Promise<void> {
+      // Remove from monitoring FIRST (prevent race conditions)
+      this.activeTrades.delete(trade.id)
+      
+      // Update database with estimated P&L
+      await updateTradeExit({
+        positionId: trade.positionId,
+        exitPrice: trade.lastPrice,
+        exitReason: 'manual', // Ghost closures = manual
+        realizedPnL: estimatedPnL,
+        exitOrderTx: reason, // Store cleanup reason
+        ...
+      })
+      
+      if (this.activeTrades.size === 0) {
+        this.stopMonitoring()
+      }
+    }
+    ```
+    - **Behavior:** Auto-detects and cleans ghosts every 5 minutes, no manual intervention
+    - **RPC overhead:** Minimal (1 check per 5 min per position = ~288 calls/day for 1 position)
+    - **Benefits:**
+      * Self-healing system prevents ghost accumulation
+      * Eliminates rate limit storms from ghost management
+      * No more manual container restarts needed
+      * Addresses root cause (state management) not symptom (rate limits)
+    - **Logs:** `🔍 Scheduled position validation every 5 minutes` on startup
+    - **Monitoring:** `🔴 Ghost position detected` + `✅ Ghost position cleaned up` in logs
+    - **Verification:** Container restart shows 1 position, not 4+ like before
+    - **Why paid RPC doesn't fix this:** Ghost positions are state management bug, not capacity issue
+    - **Lesson:** Periodic validation of in-memory state against authoritative source prevents state drift
+
 ## File Conventions
 
 - **API routes:** `app/api/[feature]/[action]/route.ts` (Next.js 15 App Router)