The cryptocurrency market, especially small-cap altcoins, has always harbored deadly traps that only those who see through the nature of "market makers" can evade. Looking at the ATUSDT chart, the crowd is under the illusion of a rare opportunity as the price has plummeted uncontrollably from the $0.1150 zone to the current $0.0947. This is not a natural correction, but a deliberate massacre, a play staged to drain the liquidity of impatient and uninformed investors.
The selling pressure is evident through the Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) for futures contracts, continuously sinking deep into the red, reaching -$97.671 million. This indicates that sellers have completely taken control, relentlessly pushing prices down with large orders. Alarmingly, the Aggregated Spot Cumulative Volume Delta has plummeted to -$852.894 million, proving that the actual asset is being dumped mercilessly. When both the spot and futures markets are united in a massive sell-off like this, all efforts from buyers are like drops in the ocean. The Funding Rate, which has been deeply negative at -0.0060 for an extended period, clearly reflects extreme pessimism and the dominance of the short-selling side. Recently, the Funding Rate has shown signs of slightly rising to positive territory, a subtle change that could be a sweet bait for those believing the bottom has formed and beginning to "long" with fragile hopes. This is when market makers start to gather liquidity from newly opened long positions, preparing for the next liquidation wave.
Although prices have dropped sharply, the total open interest remains stable around $53.51 million to $53.55 million. This figure is a clear warning signal: despite the price collapse, many positions remain open, indicating that a large number of investors are trapped or betting on a strong reversal. With a Long/Short ratio almost perfectly balanced at 49.84% Long and 50.16% Short over 24 hours, the current ATUSDT market is nothing short of a powder keg waiting for a spark. This balance is extremely dangerous, as it allows market makers to easily create a "fakeout" in either direction, triggering liquidation chains for both sides. A small price increase could wipe out high-leverage short positions, but the more likely scenario is a slight drop that would liquidate a large number of newly opened long positions, turning the current support zone into a graveyard for inexperienced bottom-fishers. The historical performance of ATUSDT in larger timeframes is a cold reminder: down -70.26% in 30 days and -74.82% in 90 days, 180 days, and even the entire year. This is not a healthy correction; it is a prolonged collapse, evidence that the market structure of this asset is extremely weak. Any recovery on the current candlestick chart, with trading volume only around $8.22 million, seems like a feeble effort, easily extinguished by latent selling pressure.
In such a context, ATUSDT is not an isolated case but a typical example of how the cryptocurrency market crushes inexperienced investors. It shows how market makers exploit FOMO and FUD psychology, using indicators such as Funding Rate, Open Interest, and CVD to build "liquidation traps." The seemingly meaningless numbers on the chart are a death knell for weak positions, evidence of the failure of emotion-based investment strategies. To survive in this market, one must not only read and understand charts but also grasp the intentions of those behind them. Only then can one avoid the fate of liquidation, being swept into massive orders designed to drain the accounts of the crowd.
Harmony in marriage can drain the sea, but in this market, just a single market maker is enough to sink an entire sea of people if they do not understand the rules of the game.
This is not investment advice. Please do your own research and make your own investment decisions.
