Through analysis of Bitcoin futures leverage, spot market order books, and psychological trading levels, I created a set of channels that have proved surprisingly resilient over the past six months.

I’ve not day traded crypto since 2021, focusing instead on dollar cost averaging into Bitcoin daily. The removal of the emotional aspect of trading allowed me to focus on the data without projecting my personal feelings into trades and analysis.

Looking solely at the 30-minute price chart for Bitcoin, I drew horizontal lines according to repeating close prices to identify where traders may be looking to place stop-losses. I then compared these levels to Coinglass’s liquidation levels to see which aligned with high leverage. Finally, I reviewed the Binance spot market order book to analyze where large buy and sell orders were placed outside the current mid-price.

Based on this seemingly simple analysis, I created four channels throughout February and March to not predict the market but to identify where we could expect support and resistance. Over the past six months, these channels have matched local bottom and tops multiple times.

Further, Bitcoin’s drop to $49,000 lined up perfectly with the last line of my bottom channel. I postulated that a fall below this price would open up new lower price discovery, opening up the possibility of new lower prices. However, Bitcoin bounced off the bottom channel before hitting resistance at the top of the channel.

Between Aug. 12 and Aug. 16, Bitcoin bounced off the bottom of the white channel before falling to the bottom of the red channel, where it again found support.

Currently, Bitcoin has shown strength, rebounding to the top of the red area, which is the second bottom channel in the analysis. Bitcoin wicked above the red, threatening to enter the white before failing a retest of the top of the channel at $61k, potentially returning to the next level at $60k.

While I do not believe in trading using technical analysis, many others do. As a result, I see the value in identifying areas wherein other traders will place orders to estimate where to expect market reversals. Ultimately, charting is only a minor factor in determining Bitcoin price alongside regulation, geopolitical events, the economic climate, social sentiment, and on-chain transactions.

I do not claim to be able to predict Bitcoin prices daily. However, these channels have been highly influential in determining how much pressure Bitcoin needs to pass certain price levels, either up or down.

For instance, at present, sizeable Bitcoin FUD caused by institutions moving large amounts of Bitcoin on-chain will need considerable social sentiment pressure to pull Bitcoin below $56.6k. Likewise, bullish sentiment caused by cutting rates or increasing market liquidity would need to be substantial to push through $66.8k to break into the top yellow channel.

I post about this analysis on the on-chain social media platform Lens Protocol, along with new SlateCast episodes, on the official CryptoSlate account. None of this analysis should be considered personal financial advice; as mentioned earlier, I do not trade off these levels myself. I believe in buying Bitcoin regularly and consistently at whatever price it is on that day.

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

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Rugging, a term for deceptive and fraudulent crypto practices, is rampant in some areas of the crypto industry, with some individuals, like the self-proclaimed meme coin rugger “Phantom,” exploiting vulnerabilities to generate significant profits.

Phantom, an anonymous crypto trader, revealed how he exploits the meme coin market on Pump.Fun to amass substantial profits, averaging 400 SOL per week, which equates to approximately $60,000 to $65,000.

In an interview with crypto YouTuber NFT Nate, Phantom described the process as “brain-dead easy,” emphasizing that anyone could execute these schemes with minimal capital. His approach involves setting up what he refers to as a “mass sniper,” a method that leverages tools like DogWiffTools to deceive potential buyers into thinking a token has genuine demand.

Phantom’s strategy involves creating and launching tokens in quick succession, relying on automated systems to make it appear as though multiple wallets are buying the tokens. This creates an illusion of organic interest, drawing in unsuspecting investors who then purchase the tokens at inflated prices. Phantom and others using similar methods can then execute a “dump all” command, which sells off their holdings in a single, rapid transaction, crashing the token’s price and leaving legitimate buyers with worthless assets.

Even former employees of Pump.Fun have been in trouble for exploiting its system, with one being arrested for a $1.9 million scam. He then advised users to withdraw funds, claiming Pump.Fun considered the platform’s TVL its own funds in a complaint against him.

The interview sheds light on the scale and ease of these operations, with Phantom candidly discussing how simple it is to create new tokens and execute these scams continuously. The use of sophisticated tools, such as DogWiffTools, enables rug pullers to automate much of the process, from generating multiple wallet addresses to setting delays that make the buying patterns appear more realistic.

As NFT Nate explored the mechanics of these scams, he uncovered that the majority of tokens launched on platforms like PumpFun are rugs, with an overwhelming 98.5% of them being dumped before they even reach exchanges like Radium. The statistics presented by Phantom are staggering, highlighting that out of nearly 2 million tokens launched, only a minuscule fraction achieve any lasting value, and even fewer reach significant market caps.

The implications of these practices are severe, reinforcing the cutthroat, person-versus-person nature of the memecoin crypto market. Phantom’s remarks suggest a grim reality: in the memecoin space where many projects are questionable, he believes it’s often a choice between rugging others or being rugged yourself. While this mindset is far from ethical, it reflects a pervasive attitude among some participants in the memecoin ecosystem.

NFT Nate’s investigation into these rug-pulling tactics is a stark warning to the crypto community. The tools and methods used by scammers like Phantom are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it harder for even experienced traders to avoid falling victim to these schemes.