Every crypto veteran knows that some traps aren’t meant to be stepped into—they’re meant to be avoided. Today, let’s talk about a deadly chart pattern—the “guillotine drop.”

What’s a guillotine drop? It’s when a certain coin’s price plunges vertically by over 70% within a very short time (a few hours to a day). On the candlestick chart, that long red candle slices straight down like a blade.

See this kind of pattern? Run away, fast.

It’s not superstition—it’s common sense. A normal market correction has fluctuations and back-and-forth movements, and the drop happens in waves. But a guillotine drop is different—it’s the result of complete panic selling. The main players or big money aren’t pretending anymore; they just want to dump their holdings for cash as fast as possible, not even bothering to put on a show.

What’s even more dangerous? Many people see the crash and get the urge to “buy the dip.” They think it’s cheap now, that after such a huge drop, a rebound is inevitable.

Wake up. What you see is a low price, but behind it, liquidity is dead. The team might be abandoning the project, market depth has collapsed, and if you jump in now, you’re not buying the dip—you’re catching a falling knife.

The usual script after this: following the crash, the coin enters a long, slow downward grind, with the occasional small bounce to lure in the overly hopeful—just to trap them deeper—until the coin disappears from view entirely.

If you’re unlucky enough to already be holding one of these coins, what should you do?

Don’t fantasize about it returning to its original price. Be realistic. Use any decent rebound as a chance to cut your losses and get out. Take whatever capital you have left and put it into assets with healthy trends and sufficient liquidity. Holding on stubbornly will only let your losses keep eating away at your funds and your mindset.

Those who survive long-term in crypto all understand this: knowing what NOT to do is more important than knowing what to do. If you can avoid obvious death traps, you’ve already won most of the battle.

Your goal isn’t to rescue every coin that’s crashed, but to protect your capital and wait for the real opportunity that’s meant for you.