This Christmas season, those guys on Wall Street have collectively changed their faces.

Executives from Royal Bank of Canada and Charles Schwab recently publicly acknowledged that this year's traditional "Christmas rally" may be in jeopardy. Sounds like a U.S. stock market issue? Wrong. This situation is quietly spreading to the cryptocurrency market.

Just take a look at the options market - the volume of put options has surged, and the rotation among various sectors is chaotic. In simple terms, it means that big capital is quietly preparing for defense, ready to retreat at any moment. The crypto market has always been a magnifier of global financial sentiment; when things get tense in the US stock market, Bitcoin immediately shakes in response.

The recent market has already shown signs: BTC is bouncing back and forth at a critical position, while altcoins are experiencing severe polarization. Are some people taking this as a signal to buy the dip? But institutions have already set up hedges at the options level, just waiting for retail investors to jump in.

What to do at this time? Three words: don't mess around.

First of all, don't even touch leverage at this point. Institutions are playing with precise options hedging, while we're dealing with real money. Secondly, altcoins are a minefield right now; unless you know the project inside and out, it's best to stay away. Finally, if you really need to allocate, just honestly hoard BTC and ETH spot, keeping your position at a level that doesn't affect your sleep.

To put it bluntly: the smartest move in a bear market is not to catch the bottom and double down, but to survive until the next bull market. Once the virus of volatility breaks out, no one knows how far it will spread.

It's better to be cautious now than to regret in the future.