The market today is witnessing a crazy paradox named $RIVER . While the price of this token is erecting a vertical green column breaking all previous peaks, an important technical indicator is flashing a red alarm: Funding Rate has reached a maximum negative threshold of -2%.
This is not a natural growth party. This is a bloody battlefield about to unfold. If you are bloodthirsty FOMOing after that green candle, stop for 2 minutes to read this article before it’s too late.
1. Market Paradox: Prices are soaring, but the crowd is "Shorting"
To understand this trap, you need to understand what is really happening:
Surface (What you see): $RIVER skyrocketing, continuously breaking ATH. Media, signal groups are shouting to buy. Retail investors jump into Long/Spot for fear of missing out.
Depth (Funding Rate -2%): A negative Funding Rate means that the Shorts are paying the Longs.
The negative level -2% (usually calculated every 4 hours) is an EXTREMELY HIGH number. It indicates a huge number of traders trying to "stop the truck," betting that the price is too high and must crash. They are so confident that they are willing to pay a hefty fee just to maintain their short positions.
=> Contradiction: The stronger the price increases, the more people jump into Short.
2. Decoding the trap: "Fuel" for the Short Squeeze
Why is the price still rising when everyone wants to Short? This is the trap of the Sharks (Market Makers/Whales).
How the trap works:
Accumulating and Pushing price: Sharks have accumulated enough inventory at low prices. They start using large capital to push the Spot price up high, creating FOMO.
Luring Shorts: As the price rises quickly, technical traders see the RSI overbought, notice the price hitting resistance, and jump into Short. The Funding Rate starts to turn negative.
Activate Trap (The Squeeze):
Sharks see the "liquidation map." They know exactly where the Stoploss orders are placed or at what price point the account will get liquidated above the ATH.
They continue to pump money into Spot buying even stronger, pushing the price beyond those liquidation points.
Domino Effect: When a Short order gets liquidated, the exchange is forced to execute an IMMEDIATE MARKET BUY to close that position. A series of Short liquidations means a series of Buy orders are triggered automatically.
Result: The price not only does not drop but also explodes vertically (God Candle), wiping out the Bears. That is the Short Squeeze.
Funding Rate -2% is evidence that the "fuel tank" (Short orders) is full and ready to be ignited.
3. What’s the next scenario for $RIVER ?
We are in the most dangerous stage of a parabolic pump.
Scenario 1: The final surge (Blow-off Top): Sharks will take advantage of the negative Funding Rate to execute a brutal final liquidation sweep. The price may rise another 20-30% in a few hours to wipe out the most stubborn Shorts. This is when FOMO peaks.
Scenario 2: The Crash: As soon as the Short liquidations run out (no one left to liquidate), the buying force disappears. At this point, Sharks begin to dump their huge Spot inventory on top of FOMO buyers at the peak. The price will free-fall without support.
