Bitcoin Whale’s $450M Short Bet Fuels Market Uncertainty

High-Stakes BTC Short Raises Tensions

A Bitcoin whale has placed a staggering $450 million short position on BTC at its peak, triggering widespread market reactions over the weekend of March 16-17, 2025. The massive trade, executed on the Hyperliquid platform with 40x leverage, initially stood at $300 million with profit targets at $69,414 and $58,664, but expanded as BTC price fluctuations adjusted the position. 

With a liquidation price slightly above $86,000, even minor upward movements in Bitcoin’s value could put the trader at risk of being wiped out.

As of the latest data, the whale’s position holds steady at 5,173.4 BTC, now worth approximately over $430 million. Despite the precarious nature of such an aggressive short, the trader currently boasts an unrealized profit of over $3 million. 

This isn’t the first time the individual has taken on such high-stakes bets—earlier trades include a 50x leveraged Ethereum position that resulted in a $4 million loss for Hyperliquid. The severity of that loss led the platform to revise its risk management policies, implementing stricter margin requirements to mitigate exposure to highly leveraged trades.

The whale’s short has drawn attention from market participants eager to challenge the bet. Prominent crypto trader CBB publicly urged others to push BTC’s price higher in an attempt to force a liquidation event. 

As speculation continued to mount, it was suggested that Tron founder Justin Sun might also be getting involved in these efforts to lift Bitcoin's price above the critical liquidation threshold. Max Brown, a well-known influencer, also disclosed buying $500,000 in Bitcoin (6.07 BTC) to help drive prices toward the whale’s liquidation point.

However, despite the enthusiasm and collective actions from various traders, CBB recently seemed to express a sense of resignation. He posted a Bitcoin chart on social media accompanied by the statement, "We have lost a battle but we have not lost the war," indicating that while the immediate challenge may not have been successful, the broader fight for Bitcoin's price and market momentum continues. 

BTC briefly spiked to $84,690 during the weekend, coming close but failing to trigger a forced close of the whale’s position. In response, blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain revealed that the trader reinforced the short by depositing an additional $5 million in USDC as margin, demonstrating resilience against price swings and a commitment to the bearish bet.

The whale executed parts of their trade using the TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price) strategy to take profits, and then returned hours later with more BTC added to the position.

Bitcoin is currently hovering above $83,000, reflecting a modest 0.7% gain over the last 24 hours. If prices continue to climb, the whale could be on the verge of severe losses, setting the stage for heightened volatility in the days ahead.

Meanwhile, the trader has also diversified with a long position on 571,714 MELANIA tokens, a memecoin linked to Melania Trump, valued at $384,203 with 5x leverage. Furthermore, he opened another 3x long position for HYPE, and both of them are currently in profit. Given the scale of leverage and risk involved, speculation around the whale’s identity continues, with some suggesting institutional backing or large fund involvement.

On March 18, the whale successfully closed their Bitcoin high-leverage trading position that yielded a remarkable profit of $9.4 million. 

Notably,ZachXBT shared insights on the so-called “Hyperliquid whale,” asserting it is merely a cybercriminal leveraging stolen funds. He clarified that the whale has no ties to the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group, which he previously connected to the $1.5 billion Bybit hack. 

However, when users on X requested that he expose the whale's identity, ZachXBT stated, “We’ll see, it’s just not enjoyable posting investigations on X/Twitter anymore.”

In response, the infamous whale revealed his identity on X under the handle @qwatio, which dates back to 2014. This identity was substantiated by linking his Ethereum wallet to a DeBank account and signing a cryptographic message that proves ownership of the wallet responsible for significant DeFi activities. 

Although the whale's wallet currently holds a minimal balance, it has been involved in over $115 million in transactions with key DeFi counterparts like Stargate and Aave. The whale's identity reveal has attracted scrutiny from ZachXBT, who suggests links to dubious sources; however, he asserts that no funds were acquired illegally.

To follow up on his initial revelation on March 18, ZachXBT provided additional insights into the identity and activities of the mysterious Hyperliquid whale, who amassed approximately $20 million through highly leveraged cryptocurrency trades. In a detailed X post on March 20, ZachXBT expanded on his earlier findings, linking the whale—identified as British national William Parker—to a web of illicit financial maneuvers.

ZachXBT’s latest thread reveals that Parker, previously known as Alistair Packover and convicted of casino fraud in Finland in 2023 for stealing around $1 million from two online casinos, may have utilized illicit funds to fuel his trading on decentralized perpetuals exchanges like Hyperliquid and GMX. The investigation traces the whale’s wallet, 0xf3f, to a cluster of accounts tied to platforms such as Roobet, Binance, Gamdom, and others, with evidence suggesting the funds originated from phishing schemes and a casino game exploit as early as January 2025.

The March 20 post includes sophisticated blockchain analysis, connecting Parker’s activities to specific wallet addresses and transactions, including a public address flagged as a receiver on the phishing site projection[.]fi. ZachXBT also highlights Parker’s use of 40x and 50x leverage on Bitcoin and Ethereum trades, capitalizing on market movements like Trump’s crypto reserve announcement, which the whale seemingly anticipated for significant profits.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.