Soros may be evil but he is rich for a reason. Rich people typically use puts to protect their investments. Most rich people use “collars” in which they protect their stock positions and a guaranteed about a small return on their money if applied correctly. if you are worth billions this is the smart thing to do and has nothing to do with market direction.
Like when we bet with the life insurance salesman that we'll die and we're happy when he wins the bet.
That is my guess also. I don't see any dark conspiracy here.