Crypto Trader ’qwatio’ Bleeds $3.6M as XRP Defies Short Bets in Stunning Rebound

Another day, another crypto short-seller learns the hard way that betting against digital assets can be a brutal game.

The XRP Massacre

Pseudonymous trader 'qwatio' just watched $3.6 million evaporate into thin air after XRP staged an unexpected rally. The token's rebound turned what looked like a smart short position into a financial bloodbath—proving once again that crypto markets have zero respect for conventional trading strategies.

Timing Is Everything (And They Had None)

While traditional finance types were busy analyzing charts and indicators, XRP decided to write its own rules. The token's surge caught qwatio and other short-sellers completely off guard, turning their positions into instant losses. Because nothing says 'welcome to crypto' like watching seven figures disappear while traditional hedge funds complain about volatility.

The Silver Lining?

For every trader getting wrecked on shorts, there's a bull market smiling somewhere. XRP's rebound demonstrates that even amid regulatory uncertainty and banker skepticism, digital assets continue to defy expectations and punish doubters. Maybe Wall Street should stick to what they know best—like charging 2% management fees for mediocre returns.

Trader liquidated after XRP’s brief market rebound

According to screenshots of the account’s address shared by Lookonchain, the trader has made a combined profit and loss volume decline over September, with overall PnL dipping to negative $3.6 million. 100% of the trader’s exposure was concentrated in shorting XRP. 

At the time, nearly 4.97 million XRP had been borrowed for shorting, valued at $14.34 million. The entry price averaged $2.8518, but the market price shot up fast to $2.8804, placing the position in further deficit.

On Monday at around 22:15 UTC, a large market order closed one of qwatio’s short positions, liquidating 1,244,729 XRP at $2.9154 per token. That single order represented a trade value of more than $3.6 million in USDC, with a fee exceeding $1,089. 

The closed profit-and-loss line showed a direct hit of $83,223. Earlier trades throughout the day had repeatedly opened smaller short positions around $2.84 to $2.85, with many of these recording incremental negative results.

Lookonchain had reported prior to the incident that qwatio had been on a losing streak in the days leading up to Monday’s liquidation. In the morning, the trader was reported to have closed earlier short positions in both Bitcoin and XRP, counting losses north of $3.4 million. 

Undeterred by the red in his portfolio, he quickly reopened another massive short, this time borrowing 6.17 million XRP valued at $17.6 million. That position carried a liquidation price of $2.9155, almost exactly the level where Monday evening’s rally forced a partial closure.

As the market rebounded, gambler @qwatio was partially liquidated!

He closed his short positions on $BTC and $XRP, losing $3.4M.

He then reopened a 20x short on 6.17M $XRP ($17.6M), with a liquidation price of $2.9155.https://t.co/beUxvfctNU https://t.co/cqRQ4wLXdu pic.twitter.com/UUVBkWaRd4

The trading spree was followed by another episode on September 26, when qwatio set up a new wallet labeled “0x9018” and returned to the derivatives platform Hyperliquid with 4.22 million USDC. 

Records show he used the capital to short 1,366.67 BTC, valued at $150 million with 40x leverage, alongside 2.78 million XRP worth $7.7 million at 20x leverage. Both trades went against him, resulting in another $1.2 million loss. His bitcoin liquidation threshold was $110,280, while for XRP was $3.0665.

Trader places another 20x leveraged cross bet on Ripple’s downfall

Even in the face of heavy losses, qwatio has opened a new position by borrowing 555,555 XRP, worth approximately $1.58 million, to short XRP at an entry price of $2.851 per token. He applied a 20x cross leverage carrying an exposure equivalent to $15.78 million, risking his full account margin of $822,624.

At the time of this publication, XRP’s price consolidated at around $2.8415, a slight dip that has placed the position in unrealized gains of $55,900. Still, the liquidation price for this short was set at $2.916, leaving just a 2.6% margin for error before his account could have been totally wiped out in liquidations. 

A small upward move of around $0.07 from the market level at 10 AM UTC WOULD have been enough to trigger closure of the entire account, but XRP has stumbled down 0.9% since. If XRP dropped to $2.50, the trader would gain roughly $1.87 million, a 23% return to help him recover from the previous losses. 

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