2025-12-28 14:24:46

The recent market movements have given me a lot of inspiration. While most retail investors are still obsessing over whether Bitcoin can hold above $68,000, another group has silently shifted their chips.

Tokens like ENA and WLFI have surged over 7% in the past 24 hours against the trend, which may seem insignificant, but it reflects a transfer of funds from mainstream coins to smaller altcoins. This is not a random event—it's a signal. The hot phase for altcoins seems to have truly arrived.

**The truth is often hidden behind the numbers**

Recent market cycles can almost be written into textbooks. Retail investors rush in one after another, then rush out in the same manner—leaving their pockets empty. Where is the problem? The manipulators have a set of tactics that almost always work.

They usually target coins with a circulating market cap between 1-10M USDT. Why? Because such a market cap is small enough to control easily. The following routine may sound familiar but incomplete: first, they pump the price in the spot market to create a false sense of prosperity, attracting follow-on buying. Then they shift to derivatives markets, manipulating the mark price of perpetual contracts to trigger chain liquidations of highly leveraged positions.

A carefully orchestrated drama unfolds. Gains are calculated, and losses are also planned. Long positions get wiped out, and short positions get liquidated. This explains why you’ve seen such frequent sharp rises and falls recently—not because the market is crazy, but because someone is harvesting aggressively.

**Sentiment is the chips in their hands**

In the crypto market, whoever controls the sentiment controls the wealth. The manipulators have long understood this. They are not only masters of technical analysis but also experts in reading people's minds. A piece of "good news" or a breakthrough at a "key support level" can make retail investors excitedly rush in. And that is often precisely the moment when a trap is set.

BTC-0.07%

ENA-3.63%

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DegenTherapist

· 6h ago

Manipulating emotions is something we've long seen through. The market makers are playing psychological warfare. Those operations to wipe out perpetuals are really outrageous. Small traders are the easiest to get trapped. I didn't chase that wave of ENA; it just felt off, like a trap. Honestly, retail investors are just being cut like leeks, that's nothing new. The key is to be a bit more cautious. Real opportunities definitely aren't signaled by such obvious signs; the more obvious, the more dangerous. Market makers have been using this tactic for years, which shows it really works. We're just too greedy. The market always deceives; I'm just waiting to see who gets liquidated next. The warm-up for small coins? Don't bother; it's just a sign of an upcoming harvest.

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wagmi_eventually

· 6h ago

It's the same old story, every time they say the market makers are harvesting retail investors, and what happens? I still end up losing. Is it true? I saw that wave of ENA too, but I was too reckless to buy and now I regret it to death. Small-cap coins are easier to control, I've known that for a long time. The question is, how can we know in advance which one they'll play next? It sounds like a story, but the money is definitely in their pockets. It reminds me of the last time I got trapped... Emotions really can't be controlled. Wait, are you saying now we should go into small-cap coins? Should I wait or jump in now? That's why I am increasingly inclined to only hold mainstream coins to avoid getting cut.

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GateUser-a180694b

· 6h ago

Wake up, do you still dare to go all in on small-cap coins when the water is this deep? --- It's the same old spiel, but I still fell into the trap. --- Are 1-10M market caps really that easy to control? It feels like someone is always saying they’ve discovered the manipulator’s tricks. --- I just want to know how to tell which signals are genuine and which are traps. --- Retail investors are always the last to know, hmm. --- I read a bunch of analyses and still lost money, so I might as well stop reading and sleep peacefully. --- Emotional control is wealth, but most people can't even control their own emotions. --- I didn't buy into the ENA wave, but I saw many people in the comment section got cut. --- Every time they say altcoins are about to take off, and yet I’m the one who gets cut the worst. --- Talking about the derivatives market, it feels like they’re referring to the perpetual contract manipulators. --- The problem is, no matter how well you understand the tricks, you still can’t make money.

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MidnightSnapHunter

· 6h ago

It's the same old trick again, 1-10M trading volumes are basically just the casino's buffet... I've seen through it long ago; retail investors rushing in is just the moment to sell off. The part about contract liquidation is spot on; they play this game every time. After hearing it so many times, why are people still jumping in? Is capital flowing into small-cap coins? I choose to stay away; the risk is too high. Emotional control over wealth, this sentence hits hard... Actually, I just want to ask, what should ordinary people do? Wait? The rise of ENA and WLFI is indeed interesting, but I dare not touch them. No matter how clearly we see the dealer's script, it can't change anything. The most I’ve learned from articles like this is the lesson of getting cut.

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ShortingEnthusiast

· 6h ago

Here we go again with this set, 1-10M markets are indeed easy to cut, I've seen it too many times The script of the big players is really terrible, yet people still jump in Emotions are indeed valuable, but as always—protecting the principal is more profitable than chasing gains Retail investors' fate is to be the bagholders, who can they blame? I haven't touched ENA, WLFI, or these small coins; the waters are too deep A 7% counter-trend surge? That's just bait, waiting to cut the next batch of bagholders Controlling emotions = controlling wealth, no doubt, but the problem is we can't control our greed The perpetual contract marking price scam, once is enough to see through it Reading this article, it feels like they're stirring up anxiety about the "coming trend" Killing both longs and shorts, killing the shorts—this is the true picture of the futures market

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MemeEchoer

· 6h ago

It's the same old trick again, I've seen through it long ago. Wake up, everyone, the waters of small-cap coins are deep. I'm tired of the manipulator's routine; it's nothing but harvesting retail investors. Capital migration? Ha, it's just easier to be harvested. They really treat retail investors as ATMs.

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