This is the worst kind of market for traders but the best for steady accumulation. No FOMO, no panic. Just boring stacking the institutional positioning you mentioned is the signal that something's brewing patience is the only play here.
It depends on the type of trader you are referring to because some traders like a market that is in a range and when such range have been identified, they simply buy at the low of the range and sell at the high. They do that until there is a clear breakout in either direction, then they can re-stratrgise and know what to do next.
This type of market is very good for those applying the DCA method as it enables them to get many of their orders filled at low prices such as we have now.
DCA is really effective right now, but if you are trading on these current price actions, I will not do it. I would rather wait or take some rest first before trading on these, since the last quarter of the year, the market is really not good for me as a trader (depends on how you trade). There are a lot of wicks, so you can always stop loss hunt easily.
But if you are just planning DCA, accumulating more cheap Bitcoins and planning to hold for long term, then DCA is your friend.
