Many people are still watching Ethereum break through the psychological barrier of 3300, but if you look closely at the 4-hour and 1-hour charts, you'll notice a problem—the high point at 3308 is not a breakout signal; rather, it’s a carefully orchestrated trap.

This is called liquidity hunting. The upward spike aims to wipe out the stop-loss orders above 3300, then immediately volume shrinks and a quick pullback occurs. I've seen this trick many times before.

The current market situation is a bit awkward. The bulls seem powerless— the 15-minute chart shows the price repeatedly consolidating around 3270, but the MACD has already formed a death cross below the zero line, signaling downward momentum. This is a typical scenario of "price is holding, but momentum is gone."

Even more frustrating is the trading volume. Looking at the 1-hour chart during the attack on 3300, the volume is noticeably lower than during previous rallies. No volume to support a push? That’s very interesting.

Retail traders are still shouting "a dip is a bullish retest," but the main players have already started distributing above 3300. Check the bullish-to-bearish ratio—at 3270, retail enthusiasm for going long remains high, with many betting on a breakout. The problem is, the big players need enough capacity to push the price higher. With so many people pressing long, how can the main force easily lift the price? That’s a significant obstacle to overcome.

Although the funding rate isn’t extremely high, combined with the Fear & Greed Index fluctuating between 40 and 50, it indicates the market is in a state of hesitation. High-level consolidation coupled with market indecision usually signals a continuation of a downtrend.

Since the main players have revealed their hand at 3308, let’s follow their lead.

**Trading Plan**

Direction: Short

Entry: Between 3280-3290, or go all-in at the current price—don’t hesitate

Stop-loss: 3315 (must leave some room for error above the previous high of 3308)

The logic is simple: if we can really hold above 3315, it indicates the main players want to push higher, so we can cut losses. But if support fails, the downside space will be significant.