TLDR
- Hyperliquid trader who made $150M shorting crypto before Trump’s tariff announcement opens new $160M Bitcoin short position
- New trade uses $16M with 10x leverage, entry at $117,370, liquidation at $123,500
- Original shorts placed one minute before Trump’s tariff tweet raised insider trading questions
- Blockchain analysts suggest possible connection to Garrett Jin, former BitForex CEO
- Position currently shows $4M unrealized profit with Bitcoin trading at $114,430
A cryptocurrency trader on Hyperliquid has opened a massive new short position on Bitcoin. The $160 million bet comes days after the same whale made over $150 million from perfectly timed shorts before Friday’s market crash.
The trader invested $16 million with 10x leverage for the new position. The entry price was $117,370. With Bitcoin now trading around $114,430, the whale holds over $4 million in unrealized gains.
The position has a liquidation price of $123,500. That sits below Bitcoin’s recent all-time high of $126,080. If Bitcoin climbs to that level, the trader loses everything.
Record Profits From Trump Tariff Crash
The whale first gained attention after Friday’s dramatic market moves. President Trump announced 100% tariffs on Chinese imports that evening. Cryptocurrency markets crashed immediately after the announcement.
The trader had opened two massive short positions just before the news broke. They used $80 million to short Bitcoin and $30 million to short Ether. Most other traders held long positions and lost money.
The timing sparked controversy across crypto communities. The whale’s final short position appeared at 20:49 GMT. Trump posted his tariff announcement at 20:50 GMT. Just one minute separated the trades.
YouTuber Coffeezilla highlighted this suspicious timing on social media. He questioned whether the trader possessed advance knowledge. The precision raised concerns about potential insider information.
HypurrScan data shows the combined seven-day profit from both positions reached nearly $158 million. The Friday crash triggered record liquidations across centralized and decentralized exchanges.
Potential BitForex Connection
Blockchain analyst Eye traced potential links to Garrett Jin. Jin co-founded BitForex, a cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed in February 2024. Around $57 million vanished from the exchange’s hot wallets before it went offline.
The analysis found wallet connections through Binance deposit addresses. One wallet sharing the same deposit address as the whale sent 40,000 USDT to “ereignis.eth.” That wallet also uses the ENS name “garrettjin.eth.”
Other analysts dispute this connection. ZachXBT called the evidence insufficient. He noted only the 40,000 USDT transfer directly links the wallets. ZachXBT suggested the whale might be a friend of Jin rather than Jin himself.
Polymarket Bet on CZ Pardon
Jin allegedly maintains a Polymarket position betting on Trump pardoning former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. The position predates the Friday shorts by several weeks. Nearly $40,000 sits on the line.
Recent speculation about a potential pardon has boosted the bet’s value. The position gained 39% with unrealized profits of $11,136. The Block attempted to contact Garrett Jin but received no response.
The new Bitcoin short continues the whale’s bearish strategy. With Bitcoin volatile around $114,000, the trader bets on further downside. The crypto community watches closely to see if this whale can repeat their Friday success.
