The Battle Between Bulls and Bears in Range Fluctuations—Chips Turnover Behind Small Declines

If a sharp drop is a concentrated release of panic, then a small decline is a patience contest between bulls and bears. In early March, the crypto market was caught in a classic "range tug-of-war"—Bitcoin repeatedly oscillated within a narrow band of $65,000 to $70,000, stuck between two difficult choices.
This microstructure of the oscillation is worth pondering. Data shows that over the past 24 hours, the total liquidation amount across the network exceeded $330 million, with more than 100,000 traders liquidated. Interestingly, both bulls and bears are paying the price—when the price surged to $70,000, the chasing bulls got trapped; when the price fell back to $66,000, the short sellers were squeezed out. This dual-sided harvesting scenario is a typical feature of a ranging market.
Market maker Enflux pointed out that the recent rebound of Bitcoin to nearly $70,000 is more "position-driven" rather than "faith-driven"—over the weekend, shorts added positions around the Iran situation, and when the situation didn't spiral out of control immediately, short covering pushed the price higher. This indicates that the market lacks a clear trend-driving force, with participants more engaged in short-term news speculation rather than long-term value assessment. $BTC
On the technical side, Bitcoin repeatedly battles at the key psychological level of $67,000, with the RSI indicator hovering around 40, neither entering oversold territory nor climbing back above 50. This ambiguous technical state reflects the widespread hesitation among market participants—no one dares to heavily bet on a direction, nor is anyone willing to completely exit. Small declines are becoming a "slow boil" kind of torment.