Crypto Whale Bets $340M Against Bitcoin With 10x Leverage

The Ethereum address ending in “7283ae” deposited $40 million in USDC to perpetuals trading platform Hyperliquid on Monday morning, according to data from Hyperliquid block explorer HypurrScan. Shortly thereafter, the account began building a 10x leveraged short position in Bitcoin valued around $340 million. This means the account holder is betting heavily on Bitcoin’s price decline while using leverage to amplify potential returns without committing the full principal amount.

Based on an entry price of $116,009 per Bitcoin, the position has already generated more than $700,000 in unrealized profits as Bitcoin’s price remains under pressure. However, the high-leverage strategy carries significant risk—the entire position will be liquidated if Bitcoin reaches $130,460, wiping out both the principal investment and accumulated gains. This liquidation threshold represents a new all-time high for Bitcoin, creating a clear risk-reward scenario for the whale’s bearish bet.

The whale’s trading activity has drawn scrutiny due to its uncanny timing around market-moving events. Blockchain data firm Arkham Intelligence has labeled the wallet holder a “Trump insider whale,” while other crypto commentators have made similar accusations. These concerns stem from the trader’s previous success—earning close to $200 million by shorting Bitcoin and Ethereum just prior to Trump’s tariff announcement on Friday, which contributed to a record $19 billion in crypto liquidations across the market.

Data from Hypurrscan and Arkham shows the same wallet deposited $80 million in USDC to Hyperliquid via Hyperunit on Friday, then opened approximately 3,700 BTC—worth around $450 million—in Bitcoin short positions. One day later, the wallet withdrew $150 million from Hyperliquid and transferred it to a new wallet, which now holds approximately $386 million in USDC. The precise timing of these moves relative to Trump’s market-sinking comments has fueled speculation about potential insider knowledge.

Pseudonymous on-chain sleuth “Eyeonchains” first connected the wallet to former BitForex CEO Garrett Jin in a social media post over the weekend. The allegation gained widespread attention when Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao reposted it with the caption: “Not sure of validity. Hope someone can cross check.” This amplification brought significant public scrutiny to both the trading activity and Jin’s alleged involvement.

Jin responded directly to the allegations, writing: “Hi CZ, thanks for sharing my personal and private information. To clarify, I have no connection with the Trump family or Donald Trump Jr.—this isn’t insider trading.” He confirmed his connection to the wallet but emphasized that it contains “clients’ funds” rather than his personal account. This distinction is crucial in distancing himself from personal responsibility for the trading decisions while acknowledging administrative involvement with the assets.

Blockchain researcher Conor Grogan had previously tied the account to a Bitcoin whale that swapped millions of BTC for ETH earlier this year, adding another layer to the wallet’s complex trading history. Despite the denials and explanations, the combination of massive profitable trades, political timing, and high-profile connections continues to fuel speculation within the crypto community about potential market manipulation or privileged information access.

Bitcoin has shown modest recovery in the last 24 hours, rising to $115,796, but remains down 8% for the week following Friday’s market crash triggered by Trump’s tariff announcement. Ethereum has performed slightly better, up nearly 4% in the last 24 hours, though it has still fallen around 9% this week to a current price of $4,284. This volatility creates both opportunity and risk for leveraged traders like the whale in question.

The whale’s continued bearish positioning suggests confidence in further downside for Bitcoin, despite the recent partial recovery. The use of Hyperliquid for these massive trades highlights the growing importance of decentralized perpetual trading platforms in the crypto ecosystem, where traders can access significant leverage without traditional intermediaries. However, the allegations surrounding this particular trader also raise questions about market integrity and the potential for politically-connected individuals to profit from advance knowledge of policy announcements that impact digital asset markets.