Gate on-chain observation (November 11): UNI buyback proposal sparks DeFi celebration; James Wynn loses over $22 million

On November 11th, the cryptocurrency market showed a clear sector divergence pattern. Uniswap activated its fee switch and proposed to burn 100 million treasury UNI tokens, which drove the token to surge over 50% in a single day, triggering a capital influx into the DeFi sector. An epic long position appeared on the Ethereum chain, with a major whale investing a total of 892 million USDT to buy 267,000 ETH within a week, and beginning to leverage and double down on their bets.

Bitcoin market institutional movements were mixed: Matrixport withdrew a large amount of Bitcoin, while BlackRock realized profits. The ZEC long vs. short battle entered a brutal harvest phase, with former bullish giants forced to cut losses and exit. The core market contradiction now lies in the coexistence of improving fundamentals expectations and high leverage risks. Investors should be cautious of the fragility of extreme positions amid increasing volatility.

1. BTC Market Dynamics and Analysis

On-chain signals in Bitcoin reveal complex institutional strategies. In terms of macro and liquidity flows, Matrixport withdrew 872 BTC (worth $91.68 million) from mainstream CEXs, indicating active accumulation by some institutions. Conversely, BlackRock’s spot ETF address deposited 1271 BTC (worth $134.67 million) into exchanges, suggesting some funds are taking profits at current levels.

In the battle between bulls and bears, the bankrupt whale James Wynn’s 40x leveraged short position was fully liquidated again, incurring losses of over $100,000, bringing total losses to over $22 million. This address’s repeated failures serve as a cautionary example of high-leverage contrarian trading; analysts note that such extreme speculative behavior carries very high risks in the current volatile environment.

Smart money activity shows some prudent traders adopting defensive strategies. Address “0xffb” holds a short position of 9.02 million USD worth of UNI while maintaining a long position of 66.49 million USD in BTC. Although currently showing an unrealized loss of 2.16 million USD, this cross-asset hedge reflects a professional investor’s differentiated judgment of market sectors. Data indicates total holdings of about 109 million USD, with relatively sound risk management.

2. ETH Market Dynamics and Analysis

On-chain, a rare institutional-level bullish wave has emerged for Ethereum. A whale that previously profited 24.48 million USD from shorting ETH shifted to a full long position starting November 5th, borrowing 190 million USDT from Aave, transferring it to a major CEX, and then withdrawing 75,418 ETH (~$269 million). Over the past week, this whale transferred a total of 892 million USDT into CEXs, acquiring 266,895 ETH at an average price of $3,402, and began leveraging to increase bets.

Long-term holders are also active: the “1011 Insider Whale” has continued to add ETH longs, increasing their position by 14,742 ETH in the past 20 minutes, bringing total ETH longs to 54,742 ETH (~$193 million). They placed limit orders at $3,530 to add more, with a 5x leverage ETH long position currently unrealized profit of $3.62 million, a 9.47% return, with an average entry price of $3,467. This steady accumulation contrasts sharply with high-leverage speculative behavior.

In ecosystem and network activity, stablecoin issuance has surged. Circle issued an additional 100 million USDC on Ethereum, and Paxos minted 100,000,005 PYUSD, indicating market demand is warming. Meanwhile, the Balancer hacker exchanged all stolen assets for 25,300 ETH (~$91.69 million), which could exert short-term downward pressure on prices.

3. Other Altcoin Market Dynamics and Analysis

Public Chain Ecosystem

ZEC’s long-short battle has entered a brutal harvest phase. The whale “0x96e,” who had been “precisely deploying ZEC,” was forced to reduce their position by over 30,000 ZEC after the price fell below their average cost, recording a loss of about $960,000. Remaining position shows an unrealized loss of $950,000, with a liquidation price at $420. The position shrank from $37.01 million yesterday to $10.37 million. Since November 3rd, this address deposited $2.21 million, and with 5x leverage, once saw assets swell over $10.5 million, but now faces significant losses—highlighting the double-edged sword of high leverage.

Countering this, the largest ZEC short on Hyperliquid (0xd47) has seen its unrealized loss narrow from $20.19 million to $10.87 million, with an average position price of $336 and a position size of about $30.64 million. No positions have been closed yet, but with both sides holding over $40 million, sharp price swings could trigger chain liquidations.

DeFi and RWA Sectors

UNI has become the market’s star today, surging over 50% in a single day after Uniswap Labs and the Foundation proposed the UNIfication plan. The proposal includes activating the fee switch and burning UNI tokens, with an initial burn of 100 million treasury UNI, sparking strong market reactions.

Whale reactions are polarized. On the bullish side, “Calm Order King,” who opened a UNI long on November 5th, is currently in a profit of $3.1 million with a 478% return, holding a position of $644,000, now the largest UNI long on Hyperliquid. This trader turned $3 million into over $30 million in two months, validating their precise judgment. Other whales are also actively buying: address “0xb1f” bought 254,441 UNI at an average of $8.97 (costing $2.28 million); “0x0f1” bought 199,818 UNI at $8.92 using 504 ETH; “0x555” invested $1.5 million USDC at $8.27 to acquire 181,421 UNI.

On the bearish side, address “0xffb” opened a 10x short at an average of $9.2, with a position size of $9.02 million, currently unrealized loss of $360,000, making it the largest UNI short on Hyperliquid. Notably, a suspected Variant Fund address transferred 2.818 million UNI to a CEX after the proposal, then large amounts of UNI were moved from CEXs to various exchanges—potential early project or investor profit-taking that could suppress prices later.

Meme Coins and Specific Projects

Trump-themed tokens show signs of fund outflows. Jump Crypto deposited 18.42 million WLFI (~$2.9 million) into mainstream CEXs, possibly indicating profit-taking. Meanwhile, a whale withdrew 3 million TRUMP from CEX three days ago, now worth $26.67 million. As TRUMP’s price soared above $9, this whale realized unrealized profits of $3.4 million, reflecting market divergence on political-themed coins.

4. Market Summary and Trend Outlook

Overall, the market is in a complex stage driven by both fundamentals and leverage battles. UNI’s deflationary proposal injects confidence into DeFi, attracting capital back to governance tokens. Ethereum’s institutional-level bullish activity suggests smart money remains optimistic, but the use of massive leverage poses risks. Bitcoin’s institutional flows are mixed, reflecting growing divergence between bulls and bears. ZEC’s long-short struggle warns investors about the fragility of extreme leverage amid volatility.

In the next 1-3 days, key focus points include:

• Whether UNI can hold above the $10 psychological level; if the proposal passes smoothly, next targets could be $12-15.
• ETH needs to stay above $3,500; the whale’s average cost is near $3,400, and a breakdown could trigger chain liquidations.
• ZEC’s price range of $400-450, with an average short cost of $336, still offers some safety margin.
• Bitcoin’s breakout direction between $108,000 and $112,000 will determine overall market sentiment.

Investors should closely monitor UNI proposal voting, Ethereum whale leverage positions, and stablecoin inflows/outflows across exchanges—these indicators will provide crucial clues for short-term market direction.

5. Conclusion

On-chain data acts like a mirror reflecting the diverse behaviors of market participants: from UNI’s valuation rally triggered by governance proposals, to ZEC’s brutal long-short harvest; from Ethereum whales’ epic longs to the continuous liquidation of bankrupt traders. In this arena where leverage and fundamentals intertwine, maintaining a calm mindset and strict risk management is essential to avoid becoming a victim of extreme volatility. When market sentiment swings wildly between greed and fear, true wisdom lies not in chasing short-term gains but in building resilient strategies capable of enduring cycles—because in this deep water of whale battles, survival is more important than quick profits.