Recently, two intertwined main lines have emerged on-chain: on one side, large whales are focusing on shorting mainstream assets, and on the other side, new projects in the Ethereum ecosystem are facing security hits. Address 0x913 has recently opened short positions of about 554,680–554,700 SOL, with leverage of about 20 times, corresponding to a notional value of approximately $38.14 million, while also holding about 2,577.62 ETH in an 11 times leveraged short, with a notional value of approximately $4.25 million, according to a single source revealing over $40 million of high-leverage bets in total; corresponding to this, two days ago, the address pension-usdt.eth, seen as "smart money," shorted 50,000 ETH, with a notional value of about $82.36 million, currently with a floating profit of about $4.35 million, similarly from a single source. Beyond the price risks outlined by the aggressive leverage of the whales, the previous day, Taiko's ERC20 Vault was attacked, resulting in losses of over $1 million. According to the official announcement, the team has identified the root cause, proposed a remediation plan, and plans to safely resume blockchain operation in the coming days, but specific technical details and timelines have not been fully disclosed. The concentrated shorting of SOL and ETH by the whales, coupled with the abrupt security incident at Taiko, with critical information still pending release, indicates a market entering a phase of evidently fragile sentiment. Future developments around the changes in positions of these addresses and the progress of Taiko's recovery will serve as the starting point for understanding how risks continue to ferment on-chain.
0x913's Dual Short on SOL and ETH
According to a single on-chain monitoring source, the whale address 0x913 has simultaneously bet on the downward trajectory of SOL and ETH in the derivatives market. Its short position in SOL is approximately 554,680–554,700 SOL, with leverage of about 20 times, corresponding to a notional value of approximately $38.14 million; the same address holds about 2,577.62 ETH in short, leveraging approximately 11 times, with a notional value of about $4.25 million. This means 0x913 has established a directional short exposure exceeding $40 million in two top market capitalization assets, and is bearing more aggressive leverage multiples and volatility risks on SOL.
From the position structure, 0x913 is not merely probing a single lane, but simultaneously shorting SOL, representative of public chains, and ETH, the core asset in the Ethereum ecosystem. In the currently fragile market environment, this "dual short" layout appears more like a systemic bearish judgment on overall risk assets rather than a localized event bet on a specific chain. High leverage means that its gains and losses from the bets will be magnified; once the trend diverges from expectations, the potential for withdrawal is equally significant. It is important to emphasize that all position sizes and leverage information mentioned above come from a single on-chain monitoring source and have not been cross-verified through multiple channels. It remains necessary to stay cautious and continuously observe subsequent position changes before interpreting 0x913's operations as a broader market signal.
Pension-usdt.eth Has Achieved 23 Consecutive Wins
If 0x913's high leverage seems like a bold bet, then pension-usdt.eth has been building a resume for itself with results over the past period. According to a single source, this address had previously made profits in a consecutive 23 trades, almost leaving no trace of “missteps” or “impulsive trading” for the market to grasp. This streak of victories has led it to be naturally categorized as "smart money" in the secondary market context, with every position adjustment being interpreted as a judgment on future trends.
Against this narrative backdrop, the action two days ago of pension-usdt.eth shorting 50,000 ETH stands out prominently. According to a single source, this short, with a notional value of approximately $82.36 million, currently has a floating profit of about $4.35 million, indicating that, in the short term after the position was opened, the price of ETH did indeed experience a downward movement. However, the brief did not provide specific opening prices, liquidation prices, or leverage multiples for this short position, leaving only results visible to the outside without detailed risk exposure reconstruction. Nevertheless, some traders view this significant and already profitable short as a bearish signal for the future of ETH, linking the direction of pension-usdt.eth with the short position of 0x913 as evidence that "smart money collectively holds a pessimistic view." Until this signal is validated by more data, the market judgment on ETH's future remains full of uncertainty.
Smart Money Goes All In on Shorts, Bullish Signals Under Pressure
According to a single on-chain monitoring source, 0x913 holds over $40 million in notional value high-leverage shorts on SOL and ETH: about 554,680–554,700 SOL shorted at 20 times leverage, combined with approximately 2,577.62 ETH at 11 times leveraged short positions; two days ago, pension-usdt.eth opened a short position of 50,000 ETH, with a notional value of about $82.36 million, currently floating around $4.35 million in profit. The timing of these two positions closely follows each other, both amounting to tens of millions of dollars, and combined with the "smart money" label from pension-usdt.eth's previous 23 profitable trades, it's easy to stitch them into a narrative in the public domain: experienced large holders are collectively betting on the decline of ETH, even extending to SOL.
Under this narrative dominance, the emergence of high-leverage shorts will significantly suppress market risk appetite and bullish signals: on one hand, a massive short position itself can easily be viewed as a "directional guideline," encouraging hesitant funds to prefer to reduce leverage and adopt a wait-and-see approach; on the other hand, pension-usdt.eth already holds considerable floating profits, while the dual shorting by 0x913 exacerbates negative expectations, potentially amplifying market concerns about short-term price volatility. However, it’s important to emphasize that there is currently no broader address group data to support this "collective bearish" hypothesis, and these two positions could just be short-term strategies or hedging layouts. Until more on-chain samples and time validation are provided, they appear more like high-sensitivity signals worth tracking, rather than a conclusively judged trend.
Taiko ERC20 Vault Under Attack
Just as the whales were intensively betting on-chain, the previous day, Taiko's ERC20 Vault was attacked, directly resulting in losses of over $1 million, according to Taiko's official announcement. This component itself bears the asset custody and circulation functions on the Taiko chain, and striking it at the "vault" level has caused many participants, who were originally focused on price fluctuations, to suddenly realize that technical risks are also in the foreground. According to a single official source, the team quickly identified the problem after the incident, stated that they had pinpointed the root of the attack and formulated a remediation plan, intending to safely restore blockchain operations in the coming days, but no more specific technical details or a complete timeline have been disclosed, and there is a lack of multiple source cross-verification from the outside. They can only wait for the follow-up actions based on official statements.
This security incident occurring within an Ethereum ecosystem project overlays with the concentrated short selling of ETH by on-chain whales, making it easy for the market narrative to package it as "the same main line": on one side is pension-usdt.eth and 0x913 betting downward in futures, while on the other side, Taiko’s core asset vault has been breached. Emotional resonance often exceeds the scale of the event itself. Although the disclosed loss scale is limited and the team has already started repairs, in an already fragile emotional context, such attacks will amplify market vigilance towards the risks associated with Ethereum-related protocols, causing participants not only to focus on price and position changes when assessing opportunities on the ETH chain but also to begin tracking security progress as a critical variable.
Next Steps for Whales' Shorts and Security Events
When placing the high-leverage shorts of 0x913 on SOL and ETH, along with pension-usdt.eth's substantial ETH short, against the backdrop of Taiko's attack the previous day and the announcement of plans to restore on-chain operations in the coming days, the core of this narrative is actually the "dual pressure of leverage and security" on a fragile market mentality, rather than a confirmed trend reversal. It is crucial to emphasize that currently all information regarding whale positions and attack details comes from a single monitoring and official announcement source, with the brief lacking critical parameters such as position costs, liquidation prices, attack technical details, and the number of affected users. This means that any interpretations can only be regarded as dynamic hypotheses based on limited samples. Going forward, it will be interesting to track whether 0x913 and pension-usdt.eth choose to continue expanding their shorts, reduce positions to lock in profits, or simply reverse their operations, and whether Taiko can synchronize more transparent security audits and repair results while advancing recovery progress as announced. In conjunction with price reactions to news, discussion heat on risks, and other emotional change indicators, one must remain prepared to cautiously adjust current judgments about market fragility as new data and cross-validation unfold.
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