Recently, an interesting phenomenon has been observed in the market: during a bull cycle in the crypto market, sharp drops are often not the most terrifying; instead, prolonged sideways movement is the real harvesting tool.

If a coin's fundamentals haven't changed and the investment logic remains the same, a few days of oscillation within a range can cause retail investors' expectations to shrink from "can gain $10" to "sell when it gains $2." This isn't really about rational analysis; it's about psychological wear and tear— the market uses time to exchange for space, taking away retail investors' patience and perspective.

**A sudden plunge causes pain for a while, but sideways trading wears down for a lifetime**

A sharp decline indeed makes people uncomfortable, but that pain comes quickly and leaves just as fast. In contrast, sideways movement is like boiling a frog in warm water—daily price fluctuations are less than 1%, making you feel like you're wasting time and not earning anything, which gradually erodes your mental defenses.

Retail investors often cycle through this mindset: once their paper profits grow large, they start to panic—fear of giving back gains leads them to sell quickly; if they don't see any increase in a few days, they doubt the logic and start searching for negative news online; if caught in a position, they prefer to "lie flat," claiming it's long-term holding. The result is the opposite of what they should do—failing to hold when they should, and stubbornly holding when they should cut losses. The final outcome is making a little profit but losing big.

**The truth is, retail investors are afraid of making money, not losing money**

Many people think they are risk-averse, but in reality, retail investors are truly afraid of the uncertainty that comes with making money. For example, if a coin rises from $1 to $10, a 9x gain on paper, they start to get nervous: "Is it right to sell now? Will it keep rising? Will it fall back?" This conflicted mindset is exploited by the big players—they use long-term sideways movement to wear down retail confidence. When most people's expectations drop to "just make a little profit," suddenly a pump comes, and those who sold early can never catch up again.