The Traps of the Crypto Market: How Not to Lose Your Money in Bull Traps and Bear Traps

We've all been there: you see Bitcoin rise 5%, FOMO hits you, you buy out… and 30 minutes later the price crashes. What happened? You probably fell into a Bull Trap, one of the most common manipulation strategies in crypto.

The reality of traps

It is no coincidence that many retail traders lose money just when it seemed that “the rally was confirmed”. Whales and institutional traders have a well-studied game:

Bull Trap (The bull trap)

The typical flow:

1. The big players silently accumulate
2. They launch massive buy outs or positive news → price rises 8-15% quickly
3. The retail FOMO enters, thinking “it's the moment”
4. Whales unload their holdings → -20% crash in minutes
5. Those who bought out above, liquidated

On data: According to on-chain analysis, 70% of large dumps occur after retail volume reaches its peak.

Bear Trap (The bearish trap)

It is the opposite, but equally lethal:

1. The big players push the price down with coordinated sales
2. Panic spreads, retail panic-sells
3. The whales buy out everything at bargain prices
4. The price rises 25-40% and those who sold are out.

How to identify them before losing money

Red flags to watch out for:

• Very rapid price movements (>10% in <1 hour) without real news
• Volume spikes accompanied by FOMO messaging on social media
• Pullbacks after ATHs that then quickly rebound
• Your portfolio is red but the fundamentals of the project are solid.

Protection tactics:

1. No trades on emotion: FOMO and panic are your enemy #1. If in doubt, wait.
2. Check the news: Is the pump coming from a real tweet or just rumors?
3. Use stop-loss: You protect capital, limit the damage if you make a mistake.
4. Observe the on-chain: See where the whales are accumulating (Glassnode, Santiment).
5. Wait for confirmation: Do not enter the first 15% of the movement. Let others confirm the trend.

The key difference

What matters in the end

In crypto, the market always tests you. The traps are part of the game. What separates those who win from those who lose is:

• Discipline (no FOMO)
• Education (understand what is really happening)
• Strategy (have a plan before entering)

Remember: if you don't understand why you bought, you don't know why you should sell. DYOR.