That last move was really sharp. The long positions only gained a little, then were crushed down. Seeing so many big V influencers all bearish, I can't help but wonder—are they really all that convinced, or is there another purpose?

I took a closer look at the details. The logic seems to be this: first, they give enough interest incentives to long traders to keep increasing their positions, then after they are fully committed, they execute a wave of liquidation. The key clue is in the fee rate—at the moment of the spike, the fee rate hardly moved, indicating what? Large positions are still short. In other words, the real short positions might not be retail traders but the whales behind the scenes pushing the market.

How aggressive was that move? Short positions with more than 2x leverage were almost all wiped out. This kind of precise attack really makes it hard not to think someone is manipulating behind the scenes. These subtle market changes always play out the same drama.