Crypto Isn’t Broken — It’s Just Resetting (How I’m Navigating This Market Without Chasing Noise)

Jan 19

6 min read

Educational content only. Not financial advice. All strategies discussed are experimental and subject to change. Manage your own risk.

Why I’m Writing This (And Why This Phase Confuses People)

Every cycle has a moment where people ask the same question:

“Is this the top… or just a pullback?”

That question usually shows up right after volatility, when emotions are high and clarity is low.

That’s where we are right now.

Bitcoin isn’t crashing.Ethereum isn’t exploding.Altcoins aren’t leading.

Instead, everything feels… stuck.

And for newer participants, that feels uncomfortable. For experienced ones, it feels familiar.

At DADS DeFi Space, I don’t try to predict what comes next. I focus on understanding what’s happening now, defining risk, and documenting decisions in public — including when those decisions are boring.

This article is not a hype piece.It’s not a signal thread.It’s a snapshot of market structure, leverage, sentiment, and on-chain behavior — explained in plain English.

If you’re looking for “guaranteed plays,” this won’t help you.If you want to understand why patience is sometimes the strategy, keep reading.

The Big Picture: This Is a Reset, Not a Collapse

Let’s start with the most important point:

👉 Crypto is not broken right now. It’s resetting.

After a fast move earlier this year, the market needed to do three things:

Flush excessive leverage
Cool down sentiment
Let capital reposition

That process is messy. It doesn’t look clean on charts. And it’s emotionally exhausting if you’re overexposed.

Right now, we’re in what I’d call a risk-neutral consolidation phase:

Prices are range-bound
Liquidations are high on small moves
Traders are getting punished for impatience

That combination usually means one thing:The market is trying to find balance again.

Why Macro Still Matters (Even If We Hate Talking About It)

Crypto Twitter loves to say “number go up regardless.”

Reality disagrees.

Over the last couple of weeks, traditional markets have been dealing with:

Renewed US–EU trade tension
Tariff-related headlines
Broader geopolitical uncertainty

When traditional markets get jittery, capital doesn’t disappear — it de-risks.

And crypto, whether we like it or not, is still treated as a risk asset by large players.

That doesn’t mean the crypto thesis is wrong.It means timing and positioning matter.

This macro pressure helps explain why:

Breakouts are failing
Rallies are being sold
Leverage is getting punished quickly

Understanding that context helps us avoid emotional overreactions.

Bitcoin: Boring on Purpose

Bitcoin is doing something that frustrates people who want excitement:

It’s going sideways.

What the structure actually looks like:

Support: ~$91k, then ~$88k
Resistance: ~$94.7k, then ~$99k
Big invalidation: Daily close below ~$86k

This is not random chop. It’s price discovery inside a range.

What’s important here isn’t guessing the next move — it’s watching how price reacts at the edges.

Right now:

Buyers are defending $90–91k
Sellers show up near $95k
Liquidity is building on both sides

That’s a market preparing for a decision — not one that’s already made it.

Bitcoin Dominance Is Telling a Story

Bitcoin dominance continues to rise.

That tells us something simple but important:

When uncertainty increases, capital hides in clarity.

Bitcoin is:

Liquid
Understood
Less narrative-dependent

So when risk increases, capital flows back to BTC.

That’s not bearish for crypto.It’s a pause in speculation, not a rejection of the asset class.

Ethereum: This Is Where Patience Gets Tested

Ethereum is where people are getting frustrated — and I get it.

ETH has struggled to reclaim $3,300, and every small bounce gets sold.

Here’s how I frame it:

Short term: ETH is weak relative to BTC
Long term: ETH remains core infrastructure

Both can be true.

Ethereum usually doesn’t lead until:

Bitcoin establishes a clear trend
Risk appetite returns
Capital looks for higher beta again

Until then, ETH patience is a feature — not a bug.

The key risk level I’m watching is $2,850.Below that, the market is telling us something has changed.

The Real Event: $750M in Liquidations

Let’s talk about what actually mattered this week.

More than $750 million in long positions were liquidated in a single day.

That wasn’t an accident.

It was the result of:

Crowded positioning
Elevated funding rates (overleverage traders)
Overconfidence after recent highs
Overleverage degen traders

Small price moves triggered forced selling, which accelerated downside.

That’s painful — but also necessary.

Here’s the important part:

Open interest is falling
Funding rates are neutral
Excess leverage has been flushed

This is how markets reset themselves without collapsing.

Why This Was Healthy (Even If It Hurt)

Liquidations feel bad in the moment.But structurally, they do three positive things:

Remove weak hands
Reduce forced volatility
Create cleaner conditions for the next move

After leverage clears, price becomes more honest.

That’s when real accumulation happens — quietly.

On-Chain Data: Capital Isn’t Leaving

TVL is down around 2.5%, but context matters.

This drop is mostly:

Asset price depreciation
Not mass withdrawals

What does matter:

Stablecoin supply is increasing
USDC and USDT inflows continue
Dry powder is sitting on-chain

That tells us capital is waiting, not panicking.

Where Activity Is Still Strong

Even in choppy markets, some ecosystems keep moving.

Right now:

Base is growing
Solana remains active
Sui is quietly outperforming

That divergence is important.

When prices are flat, usage becomes the signal.

Yield Still Exists — But It’s Not Passive

This is where a lot of people get hurt.

Yes, yields exist:

LPs
Lending
Basis trades
Structured products

But none of them are “set and forget.”

Every yield comes with:

Impermanent loss
Smart contract risk
Market structure risk
Strategy decay

At DADS DeFi Space, we don’t chase APR screenshots.We study why yield exists and what breaks it.

If you can’t explain the risk, the yield isn’t worth it.

Social Sentiment: Less Euphoria, More Caution

Crypto social feeds are still loud — but the tone has shifted.

Instead of:

“This is the last dip”
“Up only”

We’re seeing:

More hesitation
More rotation talk
More focus on builders

That’s constructive.

On Zora, Base App, and Farcaster, engagement remains strong — especially around:

Creator coins
On-chain identity
Community-first experiments

That’s where real culture forms during slow markets.

Why Base Keeps Showing Up

Base keeps attracting attention for simple reasons:

Low fees
Clean UX
Tight social integrations
Strong builder momentum

Whether or not a native token ever exists is secondary.

Activity is the signal.

At DADS DeFi Space, Base is where we:

Experiment publicly
Learn on-chain mechanics
Test SocialFi alignment

Not because it’s guaranteed — but because it’s alive.

This week we experimented with large token burns within the $DADSDEFISPACE ecosystem.

JOIN us on BASE APP https://base.app/invite/dadsdefispace/62YVZ0B3

WEB3 Newletter (Writer Coin soon): https://paragraph.com/@daddefispace

🪙 Community Coin: $DADSDEFISPACE

🔗 Contract: 0x11c77e7a39c80e00f1c15bfb5f394e7b7e9a50c6

🌐Creator Coin on Zora: https://zora.co/dadsdefispace

🧱 Create your own token: https://zora.co/invite/dadsdefispace

Bittensor: Incentives Done the Hard Way

Bittensor recently completed its first halving.

That matters because:

Emissions were cut
Weak subnets are being removed
Revenue matters more than promises

This is what market-driven incentives look like when they’re allowed to work.

Not everything survives.That’s the point.

Scenarios, Not Certainty

I don’t trade predictions. I plan scenarios.

Bull Case

BTC holds $91k
Reclaims $95k
Risk appetite returns

Base Case

BTC ranges $88k–$94k
Capital waits
Builders keep building

Bear Case

Daily close below $91k
Liquidation cascade
Risk assets de-risk further

Each scenario has:

Triggers
Invalidations
Adjustments

No ego. No attachment.

What I’m Actually Doing Right Now

This part matters more than opinions.

Watching BTC $91k closely
Staying under-leveraged
Remaining active on Base & Solana
Writing decisions down before they work or fail

No chasing.No panic.

Just process.

FAQs

Is this financial advice?No. This is educational documentation.

Should I be buying right now?That depends on your risk tolerance and plan.

Why not rotate heavily into alts?Because BTC dominance hasn’t broken yet.

Is yield safe right now?Nothing is safe. Only defined risk exists.

What if the market dumps?Then we reassess. Invalidation matters.

Why write during boring markets?Because boring markets teach discipline.

Final Thought: Calm Is a Position

Markets don’t reward excitement.

They reward:

Patience
Preparation
Humility

Right now, crypto is giving us a moment to breathe, learn, and position without mania.

That’s not weakness.

That’s opportunity — if you respect it.

Optional, Always-Optional Next Steps

Join the free Telegram
Read the ongoing market journal
Explore Base experiments
Learn how DeFi actually works before risking capital

🚀 Official Links & Onchain Profiles

20% DEPOSIT BONUS | 15% Trading Fees FOR PR GROUP ACCESS

📢LBank Exchange→ https://lbank.com/ref/5IPGV 📢 Free Telegram: https://t.me/DADSDefiSpace

🎓 Free Course: https://www.dadsdefispace.org/challenges

👨‍🏫 https://x.com/cryptozone1013

💬 Farcaster: https://farcaster.xyz/thecaptain1013

📲 Base App Profile: https://base.app/profile/dadsdefispace