Are retail investors doomed to be cut? Not necessarily. Where's the problem? It's just being led around by the nose.

In the crypto market, people who lose money usually aren't caught in a bear market, but simply fail to see what tricks the market makers are playing. They only watch price fluctuations and follow crowd sentiment, which of course results in being repeatedly exploited.

**Stage One: Dump to Absorb Chips**

The price drops sharply in an instant. What's the first reaction of retail investors? Not calmly analyzing, but panicking and running away. You're handing over your chips, while the market maker has already quietly accumulated at the bottom. This step is the simplest and most brutal, but also the most effective.

**Stage Two: Grind and Wash**

Once enough chips are collected, the market maker won't rush to push the price up. Instead, they create boring oscillations. Shaking up and down, with no clear direction, retail investors are most likely to lose their temper here, and end up dumping their coins at the worst possible moment. This is a psychological war, a pure psychological war.

**Stage Three: Slow Momentum Building**

The market gets a bit tired from the grinding, and the price begins to rise gently. Trading volume is deliberately pushed higher, creating the illusion of "big players entering" or "takeoff imminent." FOMO traders start to get restless. Popular coins like ETH, SOL, XRP perform especially attractively during this period.

**Stage Four: Pump and Distribute**

Real experts don't rush to sell here. Instead, they push the price up while creating fake dump signals, making you think someone is dumping, scaring you into handing over your chips. Once the FOMO volume is substantial enough, they truly unload at high levels.

**Why are people so easily exploited?**

Say it plain: Market makers profit from human weaknesses. You're afraid of falling, so you run at the first sign of decline. You love chasing gains, so you jump in as soon as prices rise. It's that simple.

To avoid being cut too often, the key isn't predicting whether the market will go up or down tomorrow, but maintaining your own rhythm. Don't get angry at a single candlestick, don't let short-term fluctuations dictate your decisions. Understand the structure, find the right position, wait when it's time, act when it's time. Whether your account can recover in this round of market depends ultimately on yourself; the market is just the question setter.