Just hours before the crypto market went into freefall, some traders opened massive short positions – and walked away with tens of millions in profits. Now, questions are swirling about whether someone knew what was coming.
One of the most talked-about trades happened on the decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid, where a new account was created and immediately funded with $80 million in USDC. The wallet used that deposit to open a $500 million short position on Bitcoin – a move that turned out to be perfectly timed.
Roughly 17 hours later, President Donald Trump posted a statement threatening a 100% tariff on Chinese goods, sparking panic across risk assets. Bitcoin collapsed more than 10% in minutes, dragging the broader market with it and triggering a cascade of over $9 billion in liquidations.
By the time the trader began closing their position, they were up more than $92 million, eventually locking in a combined $192 million in profit across multiple trades. The timing, size, and speed of the setup have raised eyebrows, especially since the Hyperliquid account was created the very same day.
Read also: Stablecoins Wobble During Flash Crash – But Most Pass the Test
The “Bitcoin OG” That Keeps Beating the Market
Separate from the new account, a well-known address labeled by on-chain analysts as a “Bitcoin OG” was also actively shorting into the crash – and made even more.
This wallet is linked to large BTC movements dating back to Satoshi-era mining. Analysts say it recently converted more than 35,000 BTC into ETH and USDC, and has now been building short positions over the past two weeks.
Before the crash, this address increased its short exposure to 5,000 BTC – worth around $604 million – and even raised its leverage from 6x to 8x. When the market collapsed, the trader began closing parts of the position, eventually banking over $160 million in profit across BTC and ETH shorts.
Coincidence or Insider Knowledge?
While there’s no concrete proof of insider trading, the size, timing, and precision of these short positions have raised serious questions. The fact that such large trades were opened just minutes before a major macro event has left many in the community skeptical.
It wouldn’t be the first time whales appeared to trade with perfect timing – and once again, some are walking away with nine-figure profits while retail traders were caught completely off guard.
