Sometimes the hardest part of trading isn't making money, it's knowing when to stop. Analyst Taiki Maeda just demonstrated both skills by closing out a highly profitable Ethereum (ETH) short position worth roughly $578,000 in gains, then walking away completely.

Timing The Exit

With Ethereum slipping below $3,000 this month, Maeda rode the downturn and cashed out at what he believes was the sweet spot. He's now moved entirely to cash, which in crypto circles is basically like announcing you're taking a vow of silence.

His reasoning? He already captured "the easy part" of the decline, and what's left is a grind-it-out market he's calling "hard mode." Altcoins, in his view, are deep into a "wealth destruction phase," and trying to trade through it is more likely to cost money than make it.

The Valuation Problem

Maeda isn't pulling punches about why he shorted Ethereum in the first place. He points to a $350 billion market cap supported by approximately $300 million in annualized revenue, a ratio that screams "priced on vibes, not fundamentals."

He also cites weakening growth metrics, falling total value locked, and stagnant stablecoin supply as evidence the bullish narratives don't match what's actually happening on-chain. Add in what he calls the collapse of the "Digital Asset Treasury bubble," and you've got liquidity draining out of altcoins faster than enthusiasm at a bear market conference.

Playing Defense Now

In a Nov. 21 post, Maeda outlined his trading journey over the past six weeks: shorting altcoins around Oct. 10, then doubling down on ETH shorts from $4,150. With risk now more balanced, he's stepping aside rather than trying to perfectly time the bottom.

His current strategy is refreshingly boring: preserve capital, farm low-risk airdrops, and collect stablecoin yields. In a market he describes as requiring patience over activity, doing nothing might be the only real edge. The true altseason, he argues, only arrives after markets find deeper, cleaner bottoms.