An investor known as the ’11 billion-dollar whale’ has resurfaced with a massive bet: nearly $900 million in short positions on Bitcoin and Ethereum. A strong signal after the abrupt halt of the prevailing market euphoria that had been dominating for several weeks.
A resounding comeback in the market
After two months of inactivity, the whale reactivated their wallets on Thursday, transferring $360 million in Bitcoin, a move that immediately caught the attention of on-chain observers. The next day, they opened an 8x leveraged short on Bitcoin worth $600 million, followed by a short on Ethereum exceeding $300 million on Hyperliquid.
These massive bets reflect a clear conviction: a market correction is imminent. The giant trader is betting on a price decline, despite a context marked by Bitcoin’s historic highs, recently surpassing $125,700 before returning to around $121,000.
High-risk positions, and potentially very profitable
Data also reveals a $330 million short position on Ethereum, with a 12x leverage and a liquidation price set at $4,613. Currently, the whale already showed $2.6 million in unrealized profits. But the bet is risky: if Bitcoin surpasses $133,760, everything could collapse.
This maneuver could inspire other large portfolios to bet against the market, thereby reinforcing bearish pressure on major cryptocurrencies, or motivate them to hunt for their liquidation price, pushing the market higher…
Context: whales selling, but not alone
In August, several whale addresses had already redistributed their positions: about $456 million in Ether bought by nine addresses after this same whale transferred $5 billion in BTC to ETH. This capital rotation had contributed to slowing down the rise in Bitcoin, already weakened by massive sales from dormant old addresses.
Yet, recent data shows that the current selling pressure mostly comes from small holders. The ‘shrimps’ (less than 1 BTC), ‘crabs’ (up to 10 BTC), and ‘fish’ (50 to 100 BTC) collectively sold several thousand bitcoins, accentuating the decline from the highs.
A market divided between optimism and caution
According to CoinAnk data, 52% of open positions on Bitcoin are now bearish, compared to 47% still bullish. On Ethereum, the proportion is similar: 51% of traders are short.
The signals are clear: as the market celebrates new records, the major players are bracing for a slowdown. And if this whale is right, the correction could serve as a reminder to everyone that, even after a bull run, caution remains key.
