April 18, 2026, Review | Breakouts arrive as expected, but don't rush to chase
"The trend is your friend, but friends also get tired. The key is to see when they take a breather."
Just past midnight, I glanced at the market, and the big guy had already surged to 78,200, while the second brother also touched 2,462. The two key levels I mentioned yesterday were all broken through. This move is more aggressive than I expected, but it also brings a new question: chase or not?
Welcome everyone to Lao Zhang's trading diary. Lao Zhang will analyze with the SMC strategy framework.
1. Big Brother — Bre

Speculative traders are ramping up US Dollar long positions:
Net bullish speculative positioning in the US Dollar is up to +$18 billion, the highest in 12 months.
Speculative traders include hedge funds and asset managers that take positions based on price trends and macro views rather than hedging needs.
This marks a sharp reversal from the net -$21 billion short seen in February.
The positioning shift continued despite the US Dollar Index declining over the last 2 weeks.
By comparison, peak bullish positioning reached ~$35 billion in 2019 and early 2025.
Investor demand for the US Dollar is

#晒出我的持仓收益#Brothers, let's keep up and eat meat🥩🥩🥩🥩

Full position trapped, watching the market late at night, increasing losses with each add, repeatedly being cut— is that you?
Stop relying on luck to wait for a pullback, stop blindly holding on, stop trading emotionally. In the current bullish trend, getting out of the trap doesn't depend on gambling—it depends on controlling position size, doing T in batches, and strictly setting stop-losses.
Being trapped is only temporary; make proactive adjustments and execute according to your plan. There's a chance to get back to even and turn things around. Instead of worrying, take action right away.

Fast gameplay, quick sessions, and real rewards — Mad Bus Escape fits perfectly into what modern players actually want from games today. $FUNTOKEN

The market finally improved, and the war will eventually come to an end.

🚨 BREAKING
Pakistan-flagged tanker becomes the first to exit Hormuz with oil since the US blockade.

JUST IN: BTC HITS $78,000.

This guy really wants to get people killed. One broken news story costs 800 yuan.

Friday, April 17 Review
Today’s overall market moved upward, with only a few opportunities for a pullback after the spike.
The intraday low was around 74,500. After a long period of consolidation, it gradually began to move up, then at around 5:30 PM reached the 76,350 zone to start the first round of correction, rapidly dropping by 1,300 points to 75,030, before beginning the next round of northbound momentum.
At 8:45, a key watershed point was reached—entering the rally phase. After the news about the Strait of Hormuz came out at 9:00, it was unstoppable: in the span of one and a half

╔════════════════╗
🌍🚨 NEWS ROUNDUP | GLOBAL MARKET & CRYPTO 🚨🌍
╚════════════════╝
💥 MARKET SHOCK:
US$ 800 billion has just entered the US stock market in only 60 minutes!
A massive move signaling a strong capital inflow and a possible trend reversal 📈🔥
🛢️ WAR COMING TO AN END?
Strait of Hormuz fully open, business resumed.
Oil flow restored and global route active again.
The blockade against Iran continues until the agreement is finalized.
The war is practically over, with a deal very close 🤝🌍
🚨 CRYPTO ABOUT TO CHANGE FOREVER:
JPMorgan Chase reports that the crypto market structure

#$XRP #XRP trading update (120 words):
XRP is currently showing bullish momentum, trading around $1.45–$1.50 after a strong breakout above key resistance. Recent data shows XRP gained nearly 10% this week, outperforming major cryptocurrencies. Technical indicators suggest support at $1.45, while resistance levels sit near $1.60 and $1.80. Market sentiment remains mixed, with heavy short positions potentially triggering a short squeeze if price continues upward.
On the fundamental side, growing adoption—such as payment integrations and regulatory progress—supports long-term strength. Howeve

SP500 VS M2 5% FROM ALL TIME HIGH IN 2020

BTC outperforms my YTD PNL in its last 7 days gains.
Not only that, it outperforms me in its last 30 days, too,
Even worse, today😭
Should someone like me still be here?? 😮‍💨
At least I did not lose any $$$, but I also outperformed by this dead red bear market green days.

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🚀 PLUME/USDT Showing Gradual Upside 📊
💰 Price: ₹1.16
📊 24H Change: +10.71%
💹 Momentum: Mild Bullish
📍 Trade Setup
🔹 Entry: ₹1.08 – ₹1.14
🎯 Target 1: ₹1.28
🎯 Target 2: ₹1.45
🛑 Stop Loss: ₹0.98
⚡ Market Insight:
Slow but steady bullish trend 📈
If price holds above ₹1.14, continuation toward higher levels is possible.$PLUME $B #US-IranTalksVSTroopBuildup #GatePreIPOsLaunchesWithSpaceX #Gate13thAnniversaryLive #AnthropicvsOpenAIHeatsUp

7.17 Evening
Market Analysis:
The overall market trend last night showed a continuous increase in bullish momentum. The price moved around 75,000 with bulls steadily increasing until around 78,000, then oscillated. The daily chart shows a solid bullish increase with a real bullish candle, while the four-hour bullish momentum is operating above the upper band, and the hourly bullish momentum gradually reached its peak. Overall, there is still room for bullish movement.
Trading Suggestions:
Bitcoin: Pullback to 77,000-77,500, target 78,500
Altcoin: Pullback to 2,400-2,430, target 2,500

my @avantisfi 5x ETH long on @bankrbot is looking good here.