A recent screenshot of a whale account has been circulating widely in the community, showing an unrealized loss of over $48 million USD, with large long positions mainly in ETH and other mainstream coins. Looking at these numbers, many people are starting to reflect: if even big players are caught so badly, what exactly is happening in the market?

Actually, this is quite interesting. First, we need to recognize a fact—whales are not gods, and misjudgments are unavoidable. The experience of this account essentially reflects a deeper signal: the pressure on long positions in ETH and other mainstream coins is indeed increasing. At the same time, accounts that profit from shorting small tokens are making money against the trend, and this contrast is quite obvious. Market sentiment is quietly shifting, and short-term cautiousness is spreading.

So what should ordinary traders do? There are two lessons worth learning here.

By observing the whale’s asset allocation, it’s clear that even big players never go all-in. Even if such an account is deeply trapped, it still retains a large amount of pending orders and hasn’t exhausted all its ammunition. This is the most basic risk management logic—always leave some margin. This is valuable for any investor.

Secondly, it’s important to pay attention to the behavior patterns of on-chain large holders. Especially those accounts that consistently profit from multiple small tokens, their trading performance reveals an opportunity window: in this kind of volatile market, short-term opportunities still exist, as long as you dare to be precise, but the prerequisite is strict position control.

From a timing perspective, the current situation indeed faces a tug-of-war between bulls and bears. Bitcoin options are about to expire, and such timing often triggers market volatility, with the possibility of another sharp decline. In other words, this period could be the last major dip of 2024.

So the core strategy is simple: trade lightly, test and learn, and preserve ammunition. Risk management always comes first; profits are a secondary goal. The unrealized losses of whales may seem like failure, but they are actually a mirror of the market, revealing where the risks and opportunities are. Staying calm, avoiding chasing highs and bottom-fishing, is the most prudent way to survive right now.