Manipulation. The crypto becomes highly valued with speculations; those who created it + the big traders step back and pocket the profits, while the small investors suffer. Nothing different.

The trajectory of Solana is a true example of how the crypto market is driven by euphoria and fear.

On 01/08/2021, Solana surprised with a valuation of 64.86% in a single day, fueled by the market's enthusiasm that began to see it as a strong competitor to Ethereum.
A few months earlier, on 09/09/2020, the cryptocurrency had already jumped 45.96% in just 24 hours, during the initial boom of fast and scalable blockchains.

But the drops were not light either.
On 05/19/2021, amidst the panic caused by China's restrictions, Solana plummeted -36.35% in a single day.
The worst drop, however, came on 11/09/2022: after the collapse of FTX, the price crashed -42.40% in less than 24 hours.

And what seemed bad got even worse:
From the historical peak of US$83,547,996,168,260 in November 2021, Solana fell to US$83,547,996,168,8 at the end of 2022 — a brutal drop of 97%.

Now imagine those who bought at the peak, held on waiting for recovery, and gave up at the bottom.
That is the fate of those who enter the market driven only by emotion, without strategy and without patience.

Lesson:
The crypto market is a roller coaster where those who do not accept the cycles lose. The secret is not to hit the top or the bottom — it is to survive over time, with study, discipline, and emotional control.