The financial market has never been a fair playing field.
Newcomers naively believe that price movement is a neutral reflection of supply and demand, of the numbers and patterns they draw on the chart. But the deeper you go, the more you realize what you see is only the surface – underneath, invisible hands have already written the script, and you’re just playing a role in that story.
One of the most sophisticated “acts” is the distribution phase – where whales pull out their money, unload their positions, but leave you with a sweet illusion that the market is still strong, that opportunity is still there, that you still have time to get rich.
And by the time you realize what happened, it’s usually too late.
Step 1. Distribution Doesn’t Start With a Crash
Most retail traders believe danger appears when the market dumps hard, when there are obvious “crash” candles.
In reality, distribution usually begins when everything looks best.
Price is still climbing.
Positive news is everywhere.
Communities are buzzing with excitement.
On the chart, green candles follow green candles.
But if you pay attention, you’ll notice one detail: volume is gradually declining.
I once had a buddy when I first entered the market. He was smart, a fast learner, and solid with technical analysis. When a coin he held kept rising continuously for three months, he called me every day, thrilled:
“This time it’s real. There’s insider news. A major exchange signed a deal already.”
But when I asked him about volume, he just laughed:
“It’s strong, another big green candle today.”
He only looked at candles, not at money flow.
He had no idea volume was steadily decreasing – a classic sign of distribution.
Step 2. Whales Never Dump All at Once
Contrary to what many imagine, whales don’t just slam the price down in one shot.
They unload in layers, like an assassin firing one bullet at a time into the crowd’s euphoria.
A little bit each day, a little bit each session.
They split orders into many small pieces, carefully preventing price from falling too quickly.
They might even push price slightly higher between waves of selling, creating the impression of a “small correction before another leg up.”
You see that price still looks fine.
You breathe a sigh of relief.
You tell yourself it’s just a “shakeout.”
But in reality, you’re quietly buying the exact positions whales are exiting.
Step 3. The Art of Lulling the Crowd to Sleep
The distribution phase is a psychological game.
It doesn’t create panic – it creates comfort and optimism.
Every small drop is soothed by a small green candle.
Every negative rumor is overshadowed by a better piece of news.
In chat groups, the community cheers:
“No worries, it’s just cooling off before a big pump.”
Then one day, when everything seems fine, price starts to bleed.
Not an immediate 50% crash.
Just -3% today, -5% tomorrow, -2% the next day.
You feel annoyed, but not in pain yet.
By the time you really look at your account, you’re already down 30%.
And instead of cutting the loss, you start to hope.
That’s when you’re locked inside the psychological cage.
Step 4. The Bull Trap – The Final Blow (Extended)
The bull trap is the most sophisticated finishing move in the entire distribution phase.
It’s designed like a hunting trap: when the prey is exhausted but still hopeful, the predator throws out one last juicy bait.
In the market, a bull trap often happens after a long sideways phase.
The crowd grows impatient:
“Is it going to moon or crash?”
Right then, price is pushed up above a key resistance.
A long green candle.
Volume explodes.
Social media explodes with excitement.
Retail traders pile in –
not just with their remaining capital, but with margin, leverage, sometimes all-in.
For a brief moment, they feel smart, lucky, and “ahead of the big money.”
But only a few days later – sometimes just a few hours –
price can’t hold the breakout.
It starts to fall. At first slowly, then faster.
Those using leverage get margin-called and liquidated.
Those holding on to hope get trapped deeper – the more they lose, the more they hold, telling themselves:
“It’s just a shakeout.”
In reality, that breakout wasn’t real strength at all.
It was the last smoke bomb to suck out the remaining liquidity.
Whales used their remaining bags to push the price higher,
so you would believe “the real breakout” had finally arrived.
But in truth, they were exiting completely.
The bull trap is the door slamming shut:
once it closes, all retail money is locked inside,
while whales are already outside, smiling.
When Do You Realize You’re the Prey?
Usually, you only realize you’re the prey when it’s already too late.
When your account is down 30–50%.
When every morning you open the chart to another red candle.
When you are still comforting yourself:
“It will bounce back.”
The painful part isn’t that traders lack knowledge.
It’s that they refuse to believe the data in front of them.
They trust their emotions more than reality.
There are four clear signs that you’re in a distribution zone –
yet 90% of traders ignore them:
-
Price moves sideways at the top, but volume is unusually heavy.
This means someone is selling heavily while you’re still buying.
If volume is high and price doesn’t rise, that’s when you should exit – not add more. -
Good news, but price doesn’t move.
This is a bright red warning.
If great news hits and price stays flat, whales are already gone.
You see “super bullish news,” but the market is indifferent – because those who truly have money no longer care. -
Breakouts that can’t hold.
Once, twice, even three times – price breaks resistance but immediately reverses.
That’s not “bad luck,” it’s a withdrawal strategy.
If you see price making “weak breakouts that quickly fail,” think distribution – not “temporary failed breakout.” -
Technical indicators look great, but price is sluggish.
RSI high, MACD crossing up, perfect patterns – but price barely moves.
That’s a familiar theater scene.
Indicators react to past data, while real money has already left.
To put it bluntly:
You’re not losing because you don’t know.
You’re losing because you don’t believe what you see.
You see strange volume.
You see sluggish price action.
But you ignore it, clinging to hope.
And at that moment, you’ve become liquidity – in other words, prey.
But the more important question is:
How do whales actually do this?
How can they pull out billions of dollars from the market without leaving any obvious trace?
Why do most traders only realize what’s happening when it’s far too late?
To understand that, we have to step deeper into the shadows –
where the most sophisticated tactics are deployed,
where whales turn human greed and fear into perfect tools for their exit.
And that is exactly the topic of the next part:
“The Subtle Tactics: How Whales Exit Without Leaving a Trace.”
Look out for it in the next article.