starting to think this was a trap.
It's always a trap, adam. If you are a huge whale, how can you mark the price up the cheapest way possible?
-clean out the selling, test bear strength by dumping the market a bit
-get newbs/gamblers to open new shorts
-get longs to cover and take profit (better now than during a markup which you would have to absorb)
-get your own longs filled at lower prices
Works the opposite in a bear market. Now when they push back up there will be less selling and the new shorts will either cover or get called, adding further fuel.
It's all part of the game if you trade with enough coin to alter trends. Think like a predator and not the prey.
Now if you see big volume pushing through, say, $275, then that's an indication that the big boys are selling. If there is relatively lower volume (especially during a retest of a price area) then they are not and it is probably a test.