Do you know that those suit-clad guys on Wall Street are actually watching your wallet every day?

Recently, the US December consumer confidence data was released. The numbers have slightly rebounded, but overall, people are still cautious. You might think this has nothing to do with the crypto space? Big mistake. This is actually the invisible hand secretly manipulating the flow of funds.

To put it simply, consumer confidence is about whether ordinary people dare to spend money. Once confidence picks up, money crawls out of its safe havens and flows into the stock market, bond market, or even consumer sectors. And what about Bitcoin? Recently, many people have been treating it as “digital gold” to stash away. When the traditional economy starts to show signs of improvement, it's completely normal for hot money to leave the crypto market and look for safer assets.

But here’s something most people don’t get—
What really determines the market’s direction isn’t those cold numbers, but the emotional swings of ordinary people like “you” and “me.”

What’s hidden in the data? Young people’s confidence is recovering, and inflation expectations have declined for four consecutive months. In other words: ordinary folks aren’t as afraid of the future anymore. While money is still tight, at least they’re willing to look up and move forward. Fear is fading, and that’s the key signal.

So retail investors shouldn’t panic just because they hear “capital might flow out.” The market is always a cycle: when some people exit, others inevitably enter. A short-term improvement in sentiment causing a small correction? That’s actually your chance to calm down and accumulate positions in batches. Bull markets never start amid cheers—they quietly climb during doubt and then collapse amid frenzy.

When others get anxious over a single economic data point, what you need to do is see the subtle shifts in sentiment behind the numbers.

Never let your emotions lead you by the nose; learn to be the one who observes emotions with a cool head. Sometimes, the step you take to overcome your fear is exactly the starting point of the next market move. The survival rule for retail investors is simple: patiently wait for opportunities, and strike hard and accurately when you do.