The easy money is over. • VIX rising • Gold blowing off • Crypto getting killing • Leadership narrowing • Market breadth weakening • Momentum stocks rolling over • Sell-offs on good earnings • Multiple distribution days • No actionable setups • Closes near the lows This is all you need to know about the market right now. The conditions simply aren’t favorable to be aggressive at the moment. There are times to make money and times to protect it. Right now is about protection and managing risk. There is little reward in forcing long positions here. Maybe this pullback is just a temporary top. Maybe it turns into something larger. Nobody actually knows. And the good news is that you don’t need to know. You just need to be prepared. The next window of opportunity will come. When the market improves, it will be obvious. Strong setups will come back. Leaders will reemerge. Breakouts will hold. You will have plenty of time to get back in. But patience matters. You do not miss the next bull move by waiting for confirmation. You miss it by blowing up your capital.