$53M Bitcoin Short Raises Eyebrows as Whale Bets on Market Turmoil

• A single wallet opened a US$53 million Bitcoin short on Hyperliquid, with a liquidation price of US$80,630, a level more than 20% above Bitcoin’s current price.
• The same trader holds roughly US$91 million (AU$144 million) in total notional positions, including a long on Brent crude oil and shorts on silver and altcoins.
• A separate whale was identified on March 25 running a similar strategy, reinforcing the pattern as a broader market trade, not an isolated bet.

Bitcoin (BTC) traded around US$66,720 (AU$94.5K) on Monday after recovering from a low of US$65,000 (AU$94K). 

Price action capped below US$67,000 (AU$97K) and overall activity remaining, well… awful, to say the least.

But during this period, a wallet starting with 0x007d76c0ba opened a US$53 million (AU$84 million) short position on Hyperliquid. It has a liquidation level at US$80,630 (AU$127K). 

According to Coinglass data, the same wallet holds additional positions including a US$21 million (AU$33.3 million) short in altcoins such as ETH, a US$10 million (AU$15.9 million) short in silver, and a US$7 million (AU$11.1 million) long in Brent crude.

Souce: Coinglass.

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Investors Getting Ready For $200 Per Barrel

Brent crude is trading at US$107 per barrel (AU$156), up about 48% since late February 2026. The increase is linked to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carries roughly 20% of global oil supply. 

US President Donald Trump has stated there is progress toward a potential agreement with Iran while also raising the possibility of strikes on its energy infrastructure.

Goldman Sachs raised its Brent price forecasts for March and April 2026, but some analysts have even outlined scenarios where prices reach US$200 per barrel (AU$291) if supply through the strait is disrupted.

On-chain data shows a similar position from another wallet. As of March 25, wallet 0x94d…33814 held a US$70.65 million (AU$112.1 million) Bitcoin short at 40× leverage and a US$19.16 million (AU$30.4 million) long in Brent crude at 20× leverage. 

Both positions were at unrealised losses exceeding US$1.7 million (AU$2.7 million) at the time.

Related: XRP Slides Despite Goldman Sachs’ $152M ETF Bet

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