Bitcoin and Domino Rules: How to Avoid Mass Liquidations During Volatility

When positive news coincides with falling prices, the market sends us a clear signal: something beyond normal movement is happening. Currently, BTC is in the $67,990 range with volatility that creates dangerous conditions for unprepared traders. The rules of the game in such a market are completely different, and understanding these rules is the difference between profit and losing your deposit.

Domino Effect on the Chart: What Current Data Shows

The mechanism we observe now functions like a chain reaction. When one large player starts exerting pressure on the price, it triggers a process similar to falling dominoes — each fallen piece knocks over the next. Margin positions begin to be liquidated, causing additional sales, which in turn trigger new waves of liquidations.

As of February 22, 2026, trading volumes stand at $560.44 million over the past 24 hours with a price change of -0.02%. These figures indicate that the market is in an active revaluation phase, where each misstep can lead to an expansion of the domino effect. History shows that such moments are often accompanied by wave-like movements lasting several hours.

Positive News Against Falling Prices: Analyzing the Paradox

This is where the current puzzle lies. While fundamentally the situation looks favorable — new financial instruments are launching, major institutions are ramping up activity, and a chain of indicators signals oversold conditions — the price continues to decline. This contradiction usually points to one thing: experienced players are exploiting this price weakness to clear retail traders’ positions.

When a market maker or a large fund wants to buy cheaper before an upward move, they first create conditions for panic selling. The rules of this game are well known in professional circles: you need to “shake the tree” and gather the fallen fruit. Retail traders with margin positions become unwitting participants in this process.

Deposit Protection Rules During High Volatility

First rule: don’t give in to impulse. When the price drops sharply, instinct urges immediate action — either buy “cheap” or panic and sell. The best strategy is actually to wait. Look for signs of stabilization, monitor volumes, and confirm with other indicators before entering a position.

Second rule: automated tools (Grid Bots, grid strategies) during high volatility become not helpers but enemies. They will keep accumulating positions downward, leaving you with increasing losses and psychological trauma from constant “averaging” of losses. Disable them or switch to very conservative settings.

Third rule: holding cash in stablecoins is not missed profit but an active position. Cash in USDT during such chaos is readiness for battle. When the market signals a reversal (consolidation, rising volume, confirmation from indicators), you will have funds to enter at a fair price. Losing 5% of potential profit from quick recovery is nothing compared to risking losing 50% of your capital.

When Cash Becomes a Strategy: Waiting for the Entry Point

Market rules say volatility is temporary. The domino effect, like any mechanical phenomenon, has limits — when all weak hands are liquidated, pressure subsides, and space for recovery appears. In such moments, traders who have preserved their funds gain a real advantage.

Staying on the sidelines during panic is work, not inaction. Watching how others clear their positions, feeling the strength of your uncommitted capital, and being able to make a rational decision calmly — this is what separates a successful trader from an ordinary speculator. Maintaining psychological balance and your deposit is sometimes more important than “not missing” the current moment.

Final understanding: when the dominoes start falling, survival rules are simple — reduce risk, check your emotions, and wait for clear market signals. Storms pass, charts recover, and those who remain in the game with capital get the next opportunity.