Recently observed trading data shows that the US unemployment rate continues to decline, and market traders' reactions are very straightforward—significantly increasing bets that the Federal Reserve will pause the rate cut cycle. As soon as this news broke, everyone in crypto could feel the pressure.

The performance of BTC and ETH in the past couple of days says it all. Prices dropped directly from 92,000 to 89,000. Although the decline doesn't seem large, the underlying logic is even more alarming. What does it mean if interest rates don't decrease? For crypto assets without cash flow, opportunity costs rise sharply. Think about it—why take risks with tokens when you can just buy US Treasuries and earn interest? Institutions have already sensed this, as evidenced by continuous net outflows from spot ETFs—real money is leaving.

Friends involved in derivatives trading have been experiencing many liquidation cases these days, which is a true reflection of liquidity drying up. Market trading volume has plummeted, the Fear and Greed Index is still hovering in the fear zone, and new capital is almost nowhere to be seen. The entire market feels like a deflated balloon.

In the short term, it's a sideways downward trend. My advice is simple: don't chase these opportunities, as it wastes fees and emotions. If you hold mainstream coins, one option is to participate in staking to earn some interest as a hedge; another is to dollar-cost average to dilute the cost. The key is to endure and wait for the moment when the Fed's attitude truly shifts. Frequent trading now is just pure money printing.