Christmas 2018 was a melt up. You had a case where the market felt like it was in freefall. People piled into puts and some panicked longs sold their portfoli

Christmas 2018 was a melt up. You had a case where the market felt like it was in freefall. People piled into puts and some panicked longs sold their portfolios and sat on cash. Then, when it was clear the market had stopped falling and was moving up quickly, cash hoarders suddenly piled back into the market in a panicked attempt of buying the dip. Two weeks or so and the market was in an identical place. People that sold paid taxes on their gains, a huge hit to any portfolio. Everyone that held was better off.