Having been in the crypto world for over ten years, I have gradually seen a truth: most retail investors always believe that the market makers are determined to squeeze their little gains, fearing that someone will take away their tiny profits. But to be honest, real large funds simply look down on the chips held by retail investors. What are their true intentions? To pave the way and create conditions for the subsequent surge. Wash trading has never been about stealing money, but about clearing the market.

The recent METIS market movement is a textbook example of a wash trading pattern. At that time, the price hovered around 1.2U, with circulating volume stable at about 10 million tokens, and retail holdings accounted for over 60%. A small team quietly accumulated 4 million tokens at the bottom, facing a practical problem: if they directly pushed the price up, retail investors would sell off near 1.5U, fearing to top out, leaving only one person to play the role. What to do? Design a clever wash operation—that became their only way out.

Act One: Boiling the frog in warm water. The price gradually declined from 1.2U, aiming for 0.9U. There was no massive volume or negative news; it just moved down quietly. At this point, retail investors started to get restless, repeatedly thinking, "Is this thing already done for?" Then, batches of them gave up and cut losses at the bottom, while the market makers quietly took the chips away one by one in the shadows.

Act Two: Fake-out. The coin price suddenly plummeted to 0.7U—coming fast, going fast—and then immediately rebounded to 0.95U. The bottom-fishers couldn’t sit still, fearing missing the opportunity, rushing in en masse. But then came a blow: the price didn’t continue to rise but instead plunged straight down to 0.65U. Those who just entered were instantly trapped, their mentality completely collapsing. This rollercoaster-style manipulation is the easiest way to break retail investors’ psychological defenses.

Act Three: Coordinated rumors to call it quits. At this point, the market makers released rumors like "the project team might run away," exploiting panic to push the price down to 0.5U. The market fell into despair, with retail investors rushing to sell, while the market makers turned around and became the biggest bagholders, absorbing large amounts of chips.

Then came the climax of the show: V-shaped reversal. The price rapidly surged back to 1U, forming that classic "golden pit." At this point, retail investors still chasing the high had costs mostly around 1U—sounds tragic, but in reality, they and the market makers were already on the same starting line. The entire game ends here.