This morning's ETH market looks impressive, but in reality, it's a carefully orchestrated setup.

Earlier today, ETH/USDT shot straight up from 2998.86 to around 3041.45 within five minutes, breaking above the key psychological level of $3000. Many traders saw this move and immediately wanted to chase, as the candlestick pattern looked very bullish—MA7, MA30, EMA30 forming a classic bullish alignment, signaling an upward trend.

But there's a problem. While the price was breaking out, on-chain data was telling a different story. The options market's put/call ratio suddenly surged to 1.8, hitting a three-month high. What does this mean? In a normal market, such data wouldn't look like this.

**The manipulator's playbook is actually quite simple**

I've seen this many times over the years. The big players first create a false breakout at a key psychological level to lure retail investors into chasing longs, then quickly reverse and dump. In this move, they not only harvest the chasing longs but also have accumulated a large number of short positions in the 3050-3100 range. They are harvesting longs with one hand and preparing to slam down with the other—what is this called? Dual-sided harvesting.

Behind the rapid five-minute surge is a game involving millions of dollars. On the surface, it looks like a breakout, but in reality, it's a trap. Every time such a market pattern appears, many investors fall into it.

**Why do people keep falling for it**

Simply put, it's because their psychological defenses are broken. When the price breaks a whole number level and technicals look good, FOMO starts to spread. But this is exactly what the manipulators want—harvesting your chips when your emotions are at their peak.

The mismatch between on-chain data and the options market is actually a warning. Experienced traders notice this contradiction, but most people only look at candlestick patterns, and in the end, they become the harvested chives.

The market will continue, and so will the tricks. The only difference is whether next time you're inside the game or outside watching it unfold.