Before the Price Moves
In fast-moving markets, the best trades rarely come from prediction. They come from recognising when something has already changed even if the market hasn’t noticed yet, or is too distracted to care.
There are 2 areas where this disconnect between reality and perception shows up consistently this year:
1. Fundamentals That Started Improving Before the Price Moved
Some projects begin showing real traction - TVL climbing, revenue appearing, usage expanding yet price stays flat because the market isn’t paying attention.
Those who caught it early were often funds with longer-term horizons and a structured research approach.
Meanwhile, most of retail sat out either waiting for confirmation or focused on short-term setups and quick flips.
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2. Attention That Built Quietly, Before the Crowd Noticed
Other times, interest begins building culturally or regionally, or through search - while the market is focused elsewhere.
A recent example is Labubu, which started reviving and gaining momentum across Asia.
When it first hit our radar, search volume was already 6x higher than at its previous ATH, yet the price remained 10x lower.
There were signs of accumulation, but most of the space was still preoccupied with other narratives.
Attention was building up but price was clearly lagging,
a case of attention–capital arb.
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Most participants wait for confirmation, price movement, social proof, KOL endorsements.
By then, the trade is usually crowded.
This approach doesn’t work every time. But it works often enough across a cycle to matter. And over time, that’s what makes the difference.