Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) slipping below $3,000 this month hasn’t stopped skilled traders from locking in major profits — and one of them just cashed out big.

What Happened: Analyst Taiki Maeda closed out his highly profitable Ethereum short, booking roughly $578,000 in gains after riding the market’s sharp downturn.

Now, he’s moved 100% to cash, warning that altcoins are still deep inside a “wealth destruction phase.”

Taiki believes he already captured “the easy part” of the downside and argues Ethereum remains fundamentally overvalued.

He cites weakening growth metrics, falling TVL and stagnant stablecoin supply, as evidence that the bull narratives no longer match on-chain reality.

For now, his strategy is simple: preserve capital, farm low-risk airdrops, and collect stablecoin yields.

In what he calls a “hard-mode” market, he says patience, not overtrading, is the only real edge.

The true altseason, in his view, comes after deeper, cleaner bottoms.

Also Read: BitMine Sees Ethereum ‘Supercycle’ Ahead: What’s Going On With The Stock?

Why It Matters: Taiki didn’t mince words about Ethereum’s lofty valuation, a $350 billion market cap vs. ~$300 million in annualized revenue, arguing the asset is still priced on hype instead of cash flow.

He also points to the collapse of the “Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) bubble,” saying liquidity that once inflated altcoin valuations has evaporated, leaving many tokens drifting back toward fair value, which he believes sits much lower.

In a Nov. 21 post, Taiki reflected on his past six weeks of trading: shorting altcoins around Oct. 10 and doubling down on ETH shorts from $4,150.

With risk now more balanced, he’s stepping aside, noting he likely captured the core move without trying to call a final bottom.

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