The concept of the price-volume cycle ultimately boils down to the ebb and flow of three forces: bulls, bears, and spectators. It is the spectators who cast the deciding vote on direction, so don't overlook them.

At the end of a bear market, the atmosphere is cold, volume is low to the dust, and both bulls and bears are weak. Most people lie flat and observe, and occasionally a few large bearish or bullish candles are just the existing funds cutting each other. After a prolonged period of stagnation, those who should sell have sold cleanly, and the remaining chips are held tightly, making the price feel like a compressed spring.

At this time, a small group of funds may start to move, possibly the main force or some long-term players with a keen sense, slowly lifting their heads and gradually increasing volume. The problem is that the trapped positions are still pressing down; as soon as the price rises, someone will sell, creating a rhythm of taking two steps forward and one step back, making the market appear hesitant. The main force loves this phase of exchanging time for space, as the chips are cheap and easy to gather.

Once the market sentiment begins to unify slowly, spectators feel that the 'bottom is about right', and one by one they turn into bulls and enter the market, suddenly opening up the volume and accelerating the trend. This kind of acceleration in the market usually comes with an increase in volume, but some coins may experience shrinking volume and rise rapidly—because no one is selling. Many people think that the bears are gone at this time, but that is wrong; there is no transaction volume without buying and selling, and bears and bulls grow stronger simultaneously. Therefore, short-term sharp declines are actually more common in a bull market, striking hard and fast, but they also end quickly.

When prices are at a high and stagnant, both bulls and bears have reached their limits, and there are hardly any spectators left; those who should have entered have already done so. This phase appears stable on the surface, but the supporting forces have already been exhausted. When the last spectator rushes in, the peak is nearly reached.

In the early stages of a bear market decline, both bulls and bears still have strength, so the fluctuations at the top are particularly intense. If a rebound cannot break through the previous high, it is easy to form double tops or multiple tops in terms of patterns. As the bulls fail to rebound time and again, their strength is exhausted, and the bears take the opportunity to accelerate their attacks. In the early stages of a decline, volume will increase—there are still buyers; but in the mid to late stages, volume shrinks—no one is buying anymore, only selling pressure remains.

At the end of a bear market, both sides are weak, volume shrinks to the extreme, and prices are like dead water, with rebounds too weak to raise interest. When bulls and bears balance out once again, a new cycle is about to begin.

So the old saying is not wrong—'As long as the bulls are not dead, declines will not cease', and vice versa. The bottom does not necessarily rebound; when it truly reaches the bottom, it is surprisingly quiet.