$RIVER and other liquidity-scarce tokens, how many whales are actually holding long positions behind the scenes? Honestly, it all depends on a few traders manipulating the market to keep the scene alive. They use the same tricks repeatedly—whipsawing, smashing the price—just to see who can run fast enough. Those who run slow are doomed to be trapped at the top.

Setting stop-loss and take-profit levels sounds simple, but in practice, it's easy to get caught off guard. After experiencing several cycles like this, the most memorable one was the COAI event. At that time, the market was unanimously bullish, expecting it to hit 40 and attract big investors. But it dropped from 20 straight down to 7, retail investors kept adding positions; then from 7 to 3, another wave of buying; finally falling to 1, and many are still holding at the top, enjoying the breeze.

Now, there are still so many long positions held—frankly, I can't understand the logic. The probability of a dump is often right in front of you; experienced traders can sense the signals that indicate a fall is imminent. Once longs are accumulated, the whales will reverse and close their positions, turning retail investors into bagholders instantly. Trying to make a quick profit in the short term is essentially gambling—win, and you smile; lose, and you're wiped out.

Shorting isn't much better either. When funding rates rise, even the most accurate predictions are eroded. Ultimately, it's still about timing the dump. For retail investors, these tokens are truly dangerous; their design is inherently about harvesting. Instead of relying on luck, it's better to stay away, because sooner or later, you'll fall into a trap.