When liquidity dries up, the words “buy the dip” sound very much like “saving money,” but actually it’s about first keeping yourself alive. When the order book is thin, slippage and fees rise together; even after you’ve clicked confirm, the final execution price ends up a lot farther from what you imagined—your mindset just gets ground down… For now, I’m going to reduce my trading frequency first. I’d rather make a little less than force my way in when the market is congested.

The recent commotion over NFT royalties is also pretty much like this: creators want to take home more—that’s not wrong—but secondary liquidity is already tight. Add another layer of friction, and everyone becomes even less willing to place orders or pick up the bag. In the end, it turns into “everyone’s right, but it’s all hard.” My own approach is pretty old-fashioned: first, figure out the cost of a round trip clearly. If it exceeds expectations, I won’t move. Keep a bit of Gas as winter money, and that’s it for now.