From $200M Trump-Tariff Windfall to $250M Ether Loss: The Hyperunit Whale’s Wild Ride
Talk about a reversal of fortune. One crypto whale's massive political bet paid off—then the digital tide turned.
The Setup: A Tariff Play
It started with a single, colossal position. Call it a macro-trade on steroids. The whale leveraged a major geopolitical shift—the return of Trump-era tariffs—and rode it to a staggering $200 million profit. A classic 'buy the rumor, sell the news' executed on a geopolitical scale. For a moment, it looked like sheer genius.
The Pivot: Doubling Down on Digital
Flush with cash, the narrative shifted. The windfall wasn't parked in boring bonds or blue-chip stocks. It was redeployed. The target? Ether. The bet? That the crypto kingpin would continue its ascent, fueled by institutional adoption and the ever-present promise of the next bull run. Confidence was sky-high; the portfolio, heavily concentrated.
The Unraveling: When the Tide Goes Out
Markets have a way of humbling even the sharpest minds. A cascade of factors—regulatory tremors, a risk-off shift in traditional finance, maybe just the market's natural rhythm—triggered a sharp correction. The whale's new Ether position, once the vessel for further riches, became the anchor. Paper gains evaporated, turning that initial $200 million win into a net $250 million loss on the digital asset side of the ledger. A brutal reminder that in crypto, profits aren't real until you've swapped them for something a bank won't side-eye.
The Aftermath: Lessons from the Deep
This isn't just a story of one trader's misfortune. It's a masterclass in volatility and concentration risk. It highlights the razor-thin line between visionary and bagholder in an asset class that still moves on sentiment as much as fundamentals. One minute you're a tariff-trading titan, the next you're providing liquidity for the rest of the market. The final, cynical take? In high finance, sometimes the only thing harder than making $200 million is not immediately losing it trying to make $200 million more.
The hyperunit whale’s loss incident sparks concerns in the crypto industry
Concerning the hyperunit whale’s trending news, recent reports from reliable sources reveal that the Hyperliquid account has been reduced to just $53, wiping out months of profits. This loss was initially observed after the price of Ether drastically declined this week.
Ethereum remains structurally bearish, with the price reacting to demand but lacking confirmation of a meaningful trend shift. The interaction between this demand zone, nearby supply levels, and persistent sell-side pressure will be critical in determining whether ethereum stabilizes or continues lower in the coming sessions. Currently, ETH is trading at $2,418.31, down about 10.31% over the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Following this finding, on-chain analysts issued a warning alleging that the whale was moving into a more risky position at a time when the price of ETH declined across this month. They made this statement after recently released reports illustrated more than $130 million in unrealized losses.
Initially, the trader drew attention in October of last year when on-chain analyst Eye connected wallet activity to Garrett Jin, the co-founder of WaveLabs and GroupFi, who previously served as the co-founder and vice president of BitForex. Notably, this MOVE was made possible through the use of ENS domains “ereignis.eth” and “garrettjin.eth.”
Seeing the situation grow intense, GroupFi’s co-founder refused to acknowledge ownership of the funds, claiming he was aware of the person responsible for the trades. To further clarify on this point, Jin argued that, “the fund isn’t mine – it’s my clients’.”
Several crypto investors raise concerns about the Hyperunit whale’s move
Earlier in October last year, the whale established short positions totaling more than $1 billion, specifically in BTC and ether. This scenario occurred just before TRUMP announced 100% tariffs on imports from China.
The timing fueled speculation regarding potential insider knowledge, but no evidence of misconduct has emerged. Afterwards, a significant market crash occurred, resulting in more than $18 billion in liquidations across the crypto industry.
Immediately after this substantial gain, the trader adopted long positions. Following this decision, data from Arkham published in mid-January demonstrated that the whale established a long position on Ethereum worth more than $730 million. At the same time, the total investments in ETH, SOL, and BTC exceeded $900 million.
Nonetheless, the crypto market saw sharp price declines this week, prompting the Hyperunit whale to sell all their holdings. Following this decision, the whale was left with only $53 in their Hyperliquid account, even though data from Arkham showed that the account holds $2.7 billion in other cryptocurrencies.
In the meantime, amid this significant loss in the crypto market, several crypto investors have raised concerns about the risks of Leveraged trading, even among market experts.
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