On July 28, 2024, Jiang Zhuoer, the founder and CEO of the Liebit Mining Pool (B.TOP), posted on the X platform, announcing that after this round of market activity, he would switch his hedging strategy from "shorting ETH" to "shorting BTC." Previously, he used to stake ETH to obtain WBETH and then open a perpetual contract short position for an equivalent amount of ETH using WBETH as collateral; in the new setup, the collateral remains WBETH, but the contract will be converted according to the exchange rate to short an equal value of BTC, effectively shifting it to a long-term holding of ETH while betting on BTC to continue declining. In the same round of comments, Jiang Zhuoer clearly stated that BTC and ETH are unlikely to hit bottom simultaneously; instead, they will likely reach their lows at different time points, leading him to be more bearish on BTC and relatively optimistic about ETH in the short term. That day, several Chinese crypto media outlets quickly followed up to report on this strategic shift, seeing it as a signal from the mining pool founder to "short BTC and hold ETH."
Mining Pool Boss Self-Protection Strategy: Staking ETH to Short
Before this strategic shift, Jiang Zhuoer had long followed a "self-protection strategy for mining pool leaders": he first staked his ETH to obtain WBETH, then used this WBETH as collateral in a perpetual contract account, subsequently opening a short position for an equivalent amount of ETH in the contract market. The on-chain asset path is clear — spot ETH is locked in the staking contract earning interest, with the corresponding WBETH flowing into the trading side as collateral, while the short position on the contract side hedges the price exposure of this portion of ETH.
From an economic effect perspective, this structure is almost equivalent to "unleveraged selling of spot ETH": the profits and losses caused by price changes are offset by the spot and short positions, resulting in minimal directional risk in trending markets, while the staked position continues to earn interest income. If, during a certain period, the funding rate for perpetual contracts is positive, the funding fees paid by long positions will also flow into this structure, effectively allowing one to "sell" ETH while simultaneously earning interest from staking and funding rate income, without having to worry about liquidation risks from excessive leverage. This strategy of using WBETH as collateral to short an equivalent amount of ETH quickly became dissected and discussed in the Chinese community, and many miners and large holders regard it as a relatively low-risk arbitrage and self-protection model.
WBETH Unchanged: Hedging Target Changed from ETH to BTC
When announcing the strategic shift, Jiang Zhuoer emphasized first that "the shell remains unchanged, while the assets inside change": the outer structure still uses WBETH obtained from staking as collateral, but the short position in the perpetual contract has changed from an equivalent amount of ETH to a value equivalent of BTC calculated at real-time exchange rates. He will convert his WBETH into a corresponding scale BTC short position based on ETH/BTC and USD prices. This means that, on both the on-chain and contract levels, he is no longer "selling" his ETH by shorting ETH, but rather retaining ETH without liquidation, while moving all hedging legs to BTC.
In terms of positions, this breaks down from "WBETH collateral + ETH perpetual short" to "WBETH collateral + BTC perpetual short." The former structure is economically similar to selling spot ETH while also earning staking interest and potential funding rate income, essentially holding a neutral to slightly bearish stance on ETH prices; while the new structure is equivalent to holding ETH long-term, while shorting the same value of spot BTC, clearly exposing the risk to the relative movements of the two major assets. The core signal of this strategy adjustment is that he no longer sees ETH as the primary shorting target, but rather views BTC as a need to defend or even actively attack target, completing the shift in asset preference from "hedging ETH" to "being bearish on BTC and relatively bullish on ETH."
BTC Falls Out of Rising Channel: Jiang Zhuoer’s Signal to Go Short
When explaining why he dared to switch the shorting target from ETH to BTC, Jiang Zhuoer first grasped the change in technical structure — he believes BTC has clearly fallen below its previously well-functioning rising channel. For him, this is not merely a regular correction but a signal that the trend's intensity is weakening: when the price deviates from the established channel, the upward inertia is broken, making it easier for the next phase to evolve into oscillation or even chronic weakness. Within this judgment framework, the previous stance of "only defending and not actively hedging BTC" began to lose its logical support.
Along with changes in the technical structure, his expectations for institutional buying have also shifted. Jiang Zhuoer specifically pointed out MicroStrategy, stating that this American public company, which frequently announces increasing holdings and holds a large amount of BTC, is unlikely to continue significantly buying BTC in the foreseeable future. With less of this type of high-profile accumulation narrative, he deduced that the upward support for BTC in the current cycle might not be as strong as in the previous phase. The technical trend slipping out of the channel and the key institution's decreased buying expectations, when combined, form the core rationale for his transition from "principally not shorting BTC" to "actively using BTC as the primary shorting target," transforming BTC in his asset perspective from an absolute main character to a relatively weak variety that requires caution.
BitMine Buying and RWA: ETH More Preferred
When discussing why he would "only short BTC and no longer short ETH," Jiang Zhuoer intentionally mentioned another context: BitMine is still buying ETH. He views this as one of the participants continuously increasing their positions in ETH, choosing to increase rather than reduce, which in his narrative is interpreted as a signal of professional capital's preference for ETH — at least, there has not been a significant cooling of narrative and expectations like he sees with BTC.
He then extended his perspective to the level of "considering developments such as RWA," tying ETH to a more macro and mid-to-long-term story. The RWA (Real World Assets) narrative has long been discussed as a potential direction for integrating with the ETH ecosystem. In his view, this imaginative space connecting real-world assets with on-chain infrastructure further provides ETH with a growth framework outside of the cycle. Thus, while the technical trend and institutional behavior render BTC appear more fragile in this round of cycles, BitMine's continued buying and the long-term potential of RWA jointly bolster Jiang Zhuoer's optimistic judgment on ETH, making him more willing to regard ETH as a mid-to-long-term defensive asset to hold rather than a primary source of risk to hedge against in the current cycle.
Misaligned Bottoming Cycles and Position Insights
In Jiang Zhuoer's narrative, "BTC and ETH will hit bottom at different times during this round of cycle" is not just a viewpoint but is directly reflected in the position structure of "holding ETH and shorting an equivalent value of BTC": moving away from shorting ETH and instead shorting BTC using WBETH as collateral, he has turned this expectation of cyclical misalignment into a concrete positional structure. For miners primarily holding BTC assets, this kind of thinking reminds them that cyclical risks may not necessarily arise from a general downturn but rather from periods of relative weakness in BTC, necessitating consideration of the hedging relationship between their own coins and other leading assets; for large holders accustomed to heavily investing in a single variety, this serves as a sample of relative value play, prompting them to use cross-asset long-short combinations to express their judgments on differing performances across cycles; for ordinary investors, it serves more as a rhythm reminder — do not assume that all mainstream assets will bottom out at the same moment, but rather understand that rotation and misalignment may lengthen the time frame of "holding on." Given his long-standing significant influence in the Chinese crypto community, this strategy publicly revealed on July 28, 2024, was viewed by multiple media as a signal of the differentiation expectation between BTC and ETH, but its essence is more akin to his interpretation of the current market structure and self-consistent position choices rather than a definitive script that can be copied.
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