The routines of the crypto market's "cutting leeks" are changing. In the past, project teams would manipulate the market to dump their holdings, but now retail investors have learned their lessons after being cut multiple times, and fewer and fewer are willing to take the bait. The project teams have no choice but to start manipulating the funding rate.

Take the recent example of STORJ. The price has risen nicely. Originally, the funding fee was collected every 8 hours, but just before 8 o'clock, it suddenly turned negative -2 and was changed to hourly collection. This seemingly simple tactic is actually designed to induce short covering. When everyone is shorting, a sudden rise followed by a sharp drop is used to trap them. The cheapest way to do this is to bleed the short sellers through the funding rate. Many people are caught in PIPPIN, holding on until they break even or even make a profit, but still end up at a loss. In plain terms, the funding rate is the biggest hurdle for shorts to make money.

Looking at the overall market. BTC fluctuated slightly yesterday between 86,500 and 88,700, which is basically in line with our expectations from the day before. After switching to the daily chart today, there was a rebound. Bitcoin is now at around 87,700—this is the key level that was heavily resisted all day yesterday. This level has now become a minor support. If it breaks upward, resistance is around 88,700.

Ethereum's rhythm is synchronized with Bitcoin. The 2930 level has been suppressing it since yesterday, and the range of fluctuation is within expectations. Today, it also moved above this level, forming a minor support, with resistance around 2970.

Honestly, in the current market environment, shorting requires caution. The funding rate can truly determine whether you make a profit or a loss. Shorting is indeed a trend, but it’s important to understand that those who get caught by the funding rate are usually people hoping to get rich quickly. Those just looking to earn some living expenses are less likely to get trapped because they cut losses quickly.