Consolidation is the most torturous market condition in a trading career, not only wasting time but also incurring high fees. However, traders of different backgrounds have vastly different strategies.

**Are you a short-term trader?**
Four core recommendations—reduce trading frequency, because consolidation is meant to wear you down; shrink each position size, as even if you're right about the direction, you can easily be swept out back and forth; avoid placing random orders in the middle of the range, only consider light short positions near the upper boundary and light long positions near the lower boundary; don’t always think "it’s about to take off," as consolidation often lasts much longer than you expect.

The most painful point: many short-term traders’ biggest loss comes from—being afraid to hold short positions.

**Are you a spot or mid-term holder?**
Congratulations, consolidation is actually normal and even healthy for you. Consider doing this—observe the trading volume; decreasing volume usually indicates an upcoming trend; pay less attention to candlesticks, as consolidation easily triggers impulsive trading; if you have spare funds, consider small-scale dollar-cost averaging (the key is not to go all-in at once).

The simple truth: trend trading relies on holding, ranging markets rely on patience.

**Are you a beginner just entering the market?**
At this stage, the most important thing is not trading skills but avoiding being shaken out. Use this downtime to understand support and resistance levels, and learn what true sideways movement looks like. Beginners are most likely to fall into traps of reckless trading and emotional decisions during consolidation, and together they are an invitation to liquidation.

**What might this current consolidation be doing?**
Three common possibilities—accumulating (preparing for a big trend), distributing (after a long sideways move, possibly heading down), waiting for macro news to drive the market (a single candlestick can resolve the issue). Don’t try to predict, just learn how to respond.