Hyperliquid BTC short seller up to $24 million in unrealized profits

On-chain data shows that a persistent BTC short seller (0x5D2F) is currently sitting on over $24 million in unrealized profit. The crypto trader has been shorting Bitcoin with a 1,232 BTC short position, worth approximately $113.27 million, for over six months.

The trader entered his position when Bitcoin was trading at around $111,499.30 and has held it to the current market prices. At the time of publication, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at around $91,509, down approximately 11% in the last seven days. The noted position held by the trader carries a 20x leverage with an average liquidation price of $101,641.11.

Whale on Hyperliquid receives roughly $9.2 million in funding fees

According to on-chain data provided by Lookonchain, a notable whale on Hyperliquid’s perpetual market is sitting on $24 million in unrealized profits after shorting BTC for over six months. The identified wallet has executed several trades, including the one in May, which opened a 20x leveraged short at a BTC price of nearly $111,500.

The address also set limit orders to take profit between $88,900 and $91,400, which indicates a long-term strategy rather than short-term speculation.

Short trader address (0x5D2F) trading activities. Source: Lookonchain

Alongside the $24 million unrealized gains, the address has accumulated $9.2 million in funding rate payments, a common way to earn in leveraged futures. The high leverage rate of exposure makes this trade one of the largest shorts tracked on the Hyperliquid network.

If the trade moves against the seller, significant on-chain activity may be triggered, resulting in forced adjustments to the position. The trade itself generates a profit and loss (P&L) in tens of millions, with heavy leverage, which poses a significant risk if a market reversal occurs. 

According to a Cryptopolitan report, similar trading moves have been observed in the past on-chain. The report noted a whale had a $449 million short position and managed to take profits before being liquidated by a social media task force. According to the report, the whale opened a 40x leveraged short position on Hyperliquid.

According to on-chain data, the whale held roughly $2.7 million in unrealized profit with the position being valued at $449 million. The trader’s liquidation price stood at $86,088.

Hyperliquid’s on-chain transparent model provides visibility to traders

The whale apparently caused a minor rally across the market as other traders attempted to open long positions and liquidate the whale. He has since liquidated his account, with the address currently having almost zero balance as tracked on-chain.

Liquidated address of the 40x leveraged whale. Source: Hypurrscan

Hyperliquid’s on-chain, transparent model provides full visibility of other users’ positions on its ledger, making it easier for traders to monitor major bets in real-time. Some analysts have noted that such visibility has enabled an attempt to coordinate the liquidation of whale positions. 

Jeffrey Yan, co-founder of Hyperliquid, described the transparent model as a democratized venue for whale watching, as any on-chain user can observe high leverage activity and monitor potential liquidation levels.

The scenario highlights how major market players are leveraging transparency, on-chain analytics, and strategic positioning to develop winning trade strategies across the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

So far, BTC has recovered from $88,000 levels, currently up 0.28% and trading at $91,801 at the time of publication. ETH, on the other hand, has also recovered from the $2,800 level, currently trading at $3,027 at the time of publication.

Hyperliquid’s token, HYPE, has maintained an uptrend despite a bearish sentiment across the crypto ecosystem over the past month. The token is up 7.33% on the monthly chart and has risen 2.92% over the past 24 hours. The HYPE token was trading at $39.26 at the time of publication. 

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