Why “Everyone Gets Shaved” in Crypto Markets
This phrase appears after almost every sharp move in crypto.
It sounds emotional — but the reason is purely structural.
The hidden engine of crypto price moves
Most short-term crypto volume comes not from spot trading, but from derivatives:
futures
perpetual contracts
leveraged positions
These instruments introduce one critical element:
forced liquidation.
Unlike spot traders, leveraged positions must be closed if price moves too far.
Why liquidations accelerate price moves
When price reaches a liquidation level:
positions close automatically
market orders hit the book
price moves further
more positions get liquidated
This creates a cascade.
Price moves are no longer driven by new information —
they are driven by mechanical closing of positions.
Why the ending is almost always the same
Leverage compresses risk:
many small wins
one large loss
Even a very high win rate cannot compensate for:
liquidation risk
funding fees
random volatility spikes
Over enough time, a move large enough to trigger liquidation will occur.
That’s why leverage trading rarely ends with steady growth —
it ends with capital reset.
Why spot markets behave differently
Spot trading has:
no liquidation price
no forced selling
no cascade mechanics
Volatility in spot markets creates drawdowns, not extinction events.
This is why the phrase:
“Everyone got shaved”
belongs to derivatives markets, not to spot markets.
Final observation
Leverage doesn’t increase opportunity.
It increases the probability of a terminal outcome.
This is not manipulation.
It’s market structure.
#Derivatives #Leverage #MarketStructure #Risk #trading