Recently, in this round of the market, many contract shorts fell into the trap of funding fees. After the whales lured the short sellers into the market, they started playing the rate harvesting game—gradually increasing from moderate rises to settling once an hour, and eventually charging fees every few minutes. No matter how deep the position, it couldn't withstand it; after holding on for ten days or so, traders were worn out and forced to close their positions.

It may seem possible to withstand the bottom rebound, but the funding fee gap simply cannot be filled. Those who can't hold on are forced to close their positions; once a short is stopped out, it turns into a buy order, and they get caught on the wrong side of the market. Over a month, several high-profile coins take turns using this trick to trap traders.

This is the current market ecosystem—big players and whales control the rhythm, and retail traders, no matter how skilled in technical analysis, can't resist the slow poison of funding fees. Short sellers are indeed finding it increasingly difficult to survive.