This is exactly my views and I have stated same here. Glad to see you put it in another perspective and with a reference. I have always known that when the consolidation lingers, there are higher chances of sharp moves in the opposite direction to the intended real direction. The market makers do this for two reasons: to seek for liquidity( such as hunting for the stop loss of those who would have entered the market with their protective stops below the range) and to create fear and panic (this is where weak hands sell while strong hands buy more). This pattern is consistent across all tradable asset classes.

Your analysis is good I must admit, however, I want you to look at it from another perspective. You will agree with me that there was no major news/event from 2022 till date that market will respond vigorously to. This a lone is an indication that price movement from next year will be totally different from that of last year till now because we are expecting major news/events next year. If this is correct, do you think the move will just happen without some market manipulations? The big guys will most likely want to buy very cheap; they have different mechanisms through which they achieve this. Buying at the present price level is good and very encouraging but that does not eliminate the possibility of further downside. I am not actually perturbed by further dip because I follow my DCA religiously.