The year-end market is becoming increasingly strange. Yesterday, the market quietly exited $5 billion in leveraged positions, and now it is about to face the test of $23 billion in options expiration. The most heartbreaking part is that no one is increasing the position; instead, everyone is getting out of positions. Why is this happening?

Flipping through the data, a harsh reality surfaces: the money flowing into the market has not only not increased, but has continued to shrink. Last week, the overall market capitalization of the crypto market shrank by more than $100 billion. Worse yet, the nature of the funds supporting the market has also changed - it is no longer new incremental funds, but rather the self-circulation of existing funds. Imagine, if the total amount of water in the swimming pool remains unchanged or even leaks, how can the boat continue to rise?

Everyone is focused on the maximum pain point of Options - $95,000, treating it as some sort of "price magnet." But there's a trap here. When the market is extremely lacking in new blood, market makers may not push the price toward the maximum pain point to avoid risk. Instead, they might take advantage of the quiet trading during the holiday to create severe volatility with unclear direction under weak liquidity, resulting in a dual liquidation harvest. The so-called "Christmas gift market" is actually more like a carefully designed trap.

What should I do? My suggestion is four words: **wait and see**.

First of all, cash is the best asset. If you have USDT, don't rush to buy the dip. Once liquidity really breaks and triggers a panic sell-off, the drop will be far greater than expected. The right time to increase the position is to wait for the market to gain volume and stabilize, the moment when funds flow turns from negative to positive.

Secondly, do not bet on high-leverage Options directions. During this time, the ability of the market makers to control is far stronger than what retail investors imagine. Historical patterns indicate that true liquidity recovery happens after New Year's Day, and trend opportunities will only emerge after that. Playing with fire at this stage will only hurt oneself.

Third, use this time to build momentum for next year. Instead of frequent trading, it's better to conduct in-depth research. Focus on the capital trends of ETFs and filter out those projects that have been unfairly punished but have solid fundamentals. The current market volatility is like a sand table simulation, and the opponent's hidden cards are about to be revealed. Are you ready to embrace the next cycle?