PIPPIN's leverage has been cut from 50x to 20x, and this adjustment itself reveals several issues. It appears that the bullish momentum is indeed waning, while the bears are also gearing up—major platforms have already posted million-level short positions. Interestingly, the bulls also have to bear additional funding cost pressures. In such an environment, the market makers maintaining sideways movement is already a decent performance.

Looking back, a certain exchange's inability to trigger a breakout with a 20x short position on another cryptocurrency has already shown the actual strength of the short side. The current situation of PIPPIN seems to confirm this trend—short-term upward potential is compressed tightly. Market participants are each calculating their moves, but a real breakout requires more variables to come into play.