Opening the market software reveals a sea of red—ETH has fallen from 3100 to 2950, and whale accounts are still leveraging with an unrealized loss of $140 million. Is this an opportunity or a trap? Retail investors watching the blood-red candlesticks may want to cut losses or hold on stubbornly, but few consider a crucial question: why do whales dare to continue operating despite unrealized losses?

The answer is actually simple. Whales don’t rely solely on their ETH holdings to withstand market fluctuations; they have built a set of hedging tools—they use stablecoins to lock in risk and liquidity mining to hedge against downward losses. What about ordinary retail investors? They are often exposed outright; a single limit-down can crush their confidence.

In such a declining market, the real opportunity isn’t guessing when ETH will rebound, but optimizing your asset allocation. When the market is uncertain, many professional traders shift part of their positions into stablecoins. This isn’t surrender; it’s creating room for adjustment—allowing quick entry during rebounds without being dragged down by continuous declines.

A key detail here is that decentralized stablecoins are already quite mature within the DeFi ecosystem. Not only can you use stablecoins to hedge against volatility, but you can also earn stable returns in liquidity pools on public chains like Tron. In other words, the funds that avoid the downturn aren’t just waiting idly—they are actively working. This is the logic behind navigating through bull and bear markets.

The most anxious moments in the market are often when calmness and rebalancing are most needed. Instead of acting impulsively based on emotions, it’s better to reassess your holdings—should you add a "safety cushion" to your assets?