The cryptocurrency market operates like a vast ocean with two main species: whales and sardines. The whales, or “Balaenoptera with wallets full of cryptos,” are the big investors and institutions holding significant amounts of crypto assets. The sardines represent the retail investors—small players who often enter the market driven by excitement and the promise of huge profits.

The whales’ strategy is clear: they patiently wait for the market to heat up, for crypto prices to reach sky-high levels, and for retail investors, driven by greed and the belief that prices will keep rising, to dive in. At this point, the sardines pour their limited USDT, USDC, and other real-backed currencies into the market. This massive retail participation becomes the perfect moment for whales to open their “huge mouths” and swallow all the available profits. They dump their assets into the market, causing a sharp price drop and leaving the sardines trapped.

This cycle becomes even more concerning when we factor in the blatant manipulation occurring on platforms like Binance and Coinbase. These players, which are supposed to remain neutral, often act like hungry foxes lurking, ready to take advantage of a market that ironically claims to be decentralized.

The takeaway is simple: never enter the crypto market when it’s “on fire” or in an overheated state. That’s exactly what the whales are waiting for, and the retail investors, unprepared, end up paying the price. The market is a jungle, and small investors need to be more cautious to avoid becoming just another sardine on the menu for these massive predators.