Whale with $42M profit bets $70M short on Bitcoin... Should you sell now?

▲ Cryptocurrency whale

While Bitcoin (BTC) failed to sustain its short-term upward momentum, market caution grew as a Hyperliquid whale investor built a bearish position worth $70 million. However, trading data suggests that this position is more likely a trade responding to short-term technical trends rather than targeting a structural collapse across all risk assets.

Cointelegraph reported on May 13 (local time) that a Hyperliquid whale, who previously accumulated $42 million in profits, recently opened bearish positions on cryptocurrencies and synthetic tokens linked to major tech stocks. The address, 0x8def…992dae, is known to be the account of Loracle, an early developer in the Hyperliquid ecosystem, and reportedly became more aggressive in trading since September 2025.

Most of this investor's past profits came from bullish bets, not bear markets. Over the past month, they have made profits from several long positions, and on Monday, they closed long positions in Bitcoin, Zcash (ZEC), and Toncoin (TON), realizing $9.2 million in profit in two weeks. On Thursday, they held a long position in oil-linked synthetic tokens for nine days and secured $3 million in profit.

However, over the past week, this whale changed direction, accumulating a $49 million short position on Hyperliquid. This also included a $12.5 million short position on Bitcoin and an $8 million short position on Sandisk and Nasdaq 100-indexed synthetic tokens. A $1.7 million long position on gold-backed stablecoins was also presented as supporting a short-term defensive view on risk assets.

However, an analysis of trading data from app.trade.xyz showed that the account exhibited a pattern closer to algorithmic trading, and position holding periods were generally less than one week. This suggests that the whale's short positions may be a technical response to short-term price movements rather than a long-term bearish judgment on Bitcoin or tech stocks.

The macro environment is also far from a simple bearish interpretation. With the prolonged war in Iran driving Brent crude prices above $100, inflation and consumer spending burdens have increased. If instability in US Treasury yields expands, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may expand its balance sheet. While liquidity injections temporarily reduce the burden on financial institutions, an analysis suggests that as monetary base expansion becomes clearer, the attractiveness of fixed-income assets weakens, and a favorable environment for scarce assets like Bitcoin could be created in the mid-term.

Ultimately, this Hyperliquid whale's $70 million short bet attracted market attention as a move by an investor with a successful trading history. However, considering the trading structure and holding period, there is limited evidence for Bitcoin investors to interpret it as a signal of a long-term trend breakdown. Cointelegraph assessed that despite the short-term bearish position, the Fed's liquidity expansion and inflationary pressures support the mid-term investment thesis for Bitcoin.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*