The past couple of days, the network has been a bit congested. I made a small additional purchase order that ended up sitting in the mempool so long I almost wanted to turn off my computer... To put it simply, when you click send, it's not a "transaction completed," it's just putting the transaction into a public waiting room. When there's a lot of traffic, miners/validators will prioritize transactions with higher fees; if you set a low fee, you'll just have to wait patiently. What's more awkward is that if the price changes in the meantime, and routing/slippage triggers, it might fail outright and waste some gas, or get front-run, feeling like waiting in line to buy bubble tea only to have the clerk jump ahead and charge more.

Anyway, to put it plainly: during congestion, you either pay a higher fee to get a spot near the front, or just don't rush and wait until the crowd disperses before trimming your position. Recently, funding rates have been pushed to extremes, and in groups, people argue whether to reverse or keep squeezing the bubble. I personally fear more getting caught in the squeeze at the worst time, getting hit by both traffic and emotional stress. Be more cautious: layer your orders, withdraw if you can, and prioritize survival.