An anonymous trader, known as a “whale,” caused a stir this November 6th. They opened massive short positions on Bitcoin and XRP totaling $140 million on the Hyperliquid derivatives platform. In just nine hours, the operation already reports $3.1 million in unrealized profits.
Details of the operation, visible on the HypurrScan explorer, show the funds ($7 million in USDC) originated from an Arbitrum wallet. This wallet redeemed the tokens from a zero address. This tactic makes it nearly impossible to trace the true origin of the capital. The whale used aggressive 20x leverage for their trades. The Bitcoin short entry was set at an average price of $102,978. Meanwhile, the entry for XRP was established at $2.30.
These trades occur at a time of high tension in the market. The general sentiment has turned notably bearish. In fact, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index hit a six-month low (21), indicating “Extreme Fear.” This coincided with Bitcoin falling below the key $100,000 support level. The funding method has raised suspicions. Some observers speculate about the possible use of inside information, similar to other recent notorious cases.
Is this bet a sign of inside information or the start of a bear market?
Although the profits are high, the assets’ movements were relatively slight. At the time of writing, Bitcoin had only dropped 2% to $101,110, generating $2.3 million of the profit. Meanwhile, XRP fell nearly 4% to $2.21, contributing the remaining $808,000. The high-leverage strategy (20x) is crucial. It means that even small price fluctuations result in enormous potential gains or losses.
Furthermore, institutional confidence also seems to be wavering. The firm Galaxy lowered its year-end BTC price target. It dropped from $185,000 to $120,000, citing a “maturity era” with lower volatility.
This whale’s bold bet has made investors nervous. However, not all sentiment is negative. Data from prediction markets like Myriad suggest a 56% greater likelihood of Bitcoin hitting $115,000 before $85,000. The crypto economy is closely watching whether these short positions on Bitcoin and XRP are a leveraged stroke of luck or the harbinger of a deeper correction.
