What is the most heartbreaking feeling when trading cryptocurrencies? Buying right before it drops, selling right before it surges. But do you know? It might not be luck at all — you are very likely trapped in the deadly oscillation of the "trading range."

Those seemingly perfect signals are actually traps. Seeing a large bullish candle on high volume, you think a rebound is coming and decisively go long. The result? You get stopped out right after entering. This is not coincidence but a routine of the trading range.

**What is a trading range?**

Simply put, when the price fails twice to break through a certain high or low, a trading range is formed. Within this range, the forces of bulls and bears are evenly matched, no one can control the situation, and the direction is completely random. Statistically, 80% of breakout attempts end in failure.

**The easiest pitfalls inside the range**

Remember one phrase: Do not judge a bearish candle as bearish, and do not judge a bullish candle as bullish.

A large bullish candle emerging within the range? Don’t be fooled; it might just be a trap to lure more buyers. Similarly, a large bearish candle on high volume doesn’t necessarily mean a real downtrend; it could be a trap to shake out short sellers. Every candlestick is just a fragment of oscillation. Fantasizing about them is just self-torture.

**How should you operate?**

There are two core principles that must be ingrained in your mind.

First, abandon breakouts and stay away from traps. Since false breakouts are the norm, the smartest approach is not to place orders near the range boundaries. Knowing it’s a consolidation, yet trying to break out? You’re either getting stopped out or holding long-term floating profits.

Second, if you must trade, play the high sell and low buy game. The key is to follow the main trend before entering the range. If the trend before entering is upward, look for long opportunities at the bottom for a rebound. If it’s downward, look for short opportunities at the top for a pullback. The core logic in one sentence: only do high sell and low buy, never chase breakouts.

Honestly, my personal choice is not to trade at all within the range. If I don’t have confidence in the trend, I just pass.

The market draws new traps every day, but what really wears you down isn’t the losses themselves, but the self-doubt after being repeatedly toyed with. What you lack is never more skills or indicators, but a decision-making framework that internalizes into your mind. With this framework, you can calmly judge any candlestick: where to try mistakes, which signals to wait for, and when to decisively give up.