The "big fish eat small fish" lesson: When are we the prey, when do we swim with the current?

Fellow traders, today I want to share about an "iron law" in financial markets that everyone knows but few learn how to handle: "big fish eat small fish". This isn't just empty talk, but a reality every trader faces daily.

From getting beaten up: Understanding how big fish think

I remember my early days in the market, thinking Price Action was enough. Reading Al Brooks, learning from Bob Volman, thinking I had the "truth". But reality taught me that: charts only tell us "what happened", to know "who's doing what" we must observe money flow.Big fish here aren't just crypto whales, but the entire system: hedge funds, central banks, multinational corporations. They have 3 weapons that small fish don't:

Information - earlier, more accurate

Capital - large enough to "create waves"

Time - no need for immediate profits

Classic "tactics" of big fish

Acquisition during market panicReal case study: Every crisis (Covid, bank collapses, trade wars), large corporations don't panic sell but... buy more. They know that after each retail panic sell, there's opportunity to accumulate at cheap prices.Same in crypto. When Bitcoin went from 69k to 15k in 2022, who sold? Retail. Who bought? MicroStrategy, Tesla, El Salvador. Result? BTC is back near 110k now.

"Pump and dump" - psychological warfareI've witnessed this pattern many times:

• Phase 1: Silent accumulation during low volume
• Phase 2: Create buzz through media, influencers, "positive" news
• Phase 3: Retail FOMO in, prices surge
• Phase 4: Gradual distribution while everyone's euphoric

Recognition signs: When everyone talks about a coin/stock, when taxi drivers give investment advice... that's when to be careful.

Technology and algorithm advantagesHigh-frequency trading (HFT) can execute thousands of orders per second. Algorithmic trading reacts to news in milliseconds. Meanwhile retail... is still reading the news to understand what happened.

Survival strategy: How not to become "prey"?

Read money flow instead of chartsPractical tips I'm applying:

• Track whale movements via Whale Alert
• Monitor ETF flows, institutional holdings
• Observe options flow, futures positioning
• Watch insider trading patterns