Recently, a certain altcoin manipulation incident has been making a lot of noise, involving losses exceeding $6 million. On a major exchange, such a level of order really stands out. There have been similar cases in history, where a trader was forced to cover a loss of $3.4 million.

The tactics used by these altcoin manipulators are actually quite limited, with the most disgusting one being the vacuum zone pump method. How does it work? First, look at the price chart. If there is a dense trading zone, stop-loss, and liquidation points clustered around 0.56, then the range between 0.56 and 0.44 forms what is called a vacuum zone — a region with scarce liquidity.

The manipulator’s routine is as follows: First, place a huge short order at 0.57, while also placing an order at 0.35 on other exchanges. Second, with very little capital, they can push the price from the bottom up to 0.57 because there is little liquidity between 0.44 and 0.56, allowing a quick rise within a minute. Third, after absorbing the liquidity with their short order, they directly dump the price down to 0.35. Note that the range from 0.44 to 0.35 is also a vacuum zone with similarly scarce liquidity. The result is a double whammy — both longs and shorts get trapped. No matter if you’re long or short, you can’t escape. If you’re also paying high fees, it’s truly disgusting.

For traders caught in this situation, here’s a suggestion: if you have sufficient funds, consider closing half of your position near 0.35, then reopen a short position around 0.5 with maximum leverage. If you hold spot assets, the most direct approach is to sell aggressively regardless of cost — because these manipulators usually have only $10-20 million in funds, which is far less than large institutional players. This is the most effective countermeasure against such manipulation tactics.