Looking back at the market trends over the past year, to be honest, it’s a bit heartbreaking. From around last Christmas to now, the entire market has basically shown little improvement.

Among the mainstream cryptocurrencies, only a few have withstood the pressure—BNB increased by 19.6%, and ZEC surged even more dramatically by 506.2%. And the others? Mostly trending downward. $OP experienced the worst decline, dropping by 86.5%.

What’s the most heartbreaking? Even if you believe in the long-term holding theory, choosing the wrong entry point can still be disastrous. For example, entering near the high point around last Christmas, holding for a long time, still results in being trapped. Even holding Bitcoin, if you pick the wrong position, you end up staring at the peak in frustration.

So sometimes, the losses experienced by long-term holders are no easier than those of short-term traders. This reality is quite harsh.

Recently, a well-known industry figure clarified market volatility, stating that he did not participate in any operation to push Bitcoin down to $24,000. His explanation is as follows: the current market liquidity is too tight, and a large sell order can trigger a chain reaction, causing prices to either plummet or skyrocket. Then arbitrageurs take advantage of the situation by buying low and selling high on other trading pairs, allowing the market to gradually recover.

This explanation sounds interesting—essentially, whoever holds the most chips is the most likely to influence the price trend. From another perspective, this also highlights the severity of the problem: the current market depth is clearly insufficient, making it very easy for large trades to impact the price.

Looking ahead, the past year has indeed been a test for most coin holders. These phenomena also tell us that in an environment of tight liquidity and market fragility, whether long-term or short-term, the timing of buying, understanding of liquidity, and judgment of project fundamentals all become extremely critical.