The mysterious “whale” – an investor with huge funds, operating on the Hyperliquid platform, who recently raked in $192 million in profit by betting on declines just before the flash crash, is now doubling his short position on Bitcoin. In just two days, he raised almost half a billion dollars in this risky deal. Who is this enigmatic trader and what does it mean for the market?
This investor’s story begins about two months ago, when he first caught the attention of the cryptocurrency community. At that time, his portfolio contained Bitcoins worth more than $11 billion. Since then, the whale has become synonymous with bold and controversial moves. A week ago, he opened short positions on BTC and ETH worth a total of USD 900 million.
The biggest hit, however, came when he made a $192 million profit after making a good bet on a market crash. Now, over the past two days, this trader has escalated his strategy. He initially opened a Bitcoin short position worth $163 million, but quickly doubled it, reaching an impressive $496 million. This position is leveraged 10x, with a liquidation price set at $124,270 per BTC. This means that if Bitcoin rises above this barrier, the investor will lose their entire deposit. But the whale clearly believes in further declines – and with good reason.
Suspicions of insider trading
The sequence of events came to a head on Friday when a new short position was opened less than an hour before US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imports. This announcement caused an immediate crash in the cryptocurrency market, allowing the whale to potentially profit. The cryptocurrency community quickly dubbed him an “insider whale” – a whale with access to confidential information. There are also theories that it is Baron Trump or someone close to him. We’ll probably never know. Multiple sources on X indicate that Baron Trump made $80 million by also shorting the market, including memes like Trump and Melania, right before Dad’s tariff post caused this crash.
Blockchain detectives like a cryptocurrency researcher nicknamed Eye quickly got to work. Their analyzes indicated possible connections between the wallet and Garrett Jin, former CEO of the bankrupt BitForex exchange. This suggestion gained notoriety when it was retweeted by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ). As a result, there were numerous requests to verify the trader’s identity. Later, another prominent investigator, ZachXBT, suggested that it was more likely that the account belonged to someone close to Jin.
Statements by Garrett Jin
Garrett Jin did not remain indifferent to these speculations. In response to CZ’s post on X, he wrote that he was grateful for sharing his personal and private information. To clarify, he said he has no ties to the Trump family, and this is not insider trading. In another post he added: “The fund is not mine – it belongs to my clients. We run the nodes and provide them with internal insights“These statements aim to distance Jin from accusations of illegal practices. He emphasizes that his role is limited to managing infrastructure and analysis for clients, and not to direct trading. Still, speculation continues – especially in the context of political tensions around cryptocurrencies and the decisions of the Trump administration.
Market context and implications
The whale’s current short position is part of a broader trend of caution in the Bitcoin market. Analysts indicate that BTC’s potential rally to $125,000 may be delayed by macroeconomic factors such as US tariff policy and growing geopolitical uncertainty. Hyperliquid, as a decentralized perpetual futures platform, attracts such players due to its high leverage and anonymity, but also exposes them to huge risks.
What does this mean for ordinary investors? Doubling the stake by such a giant may signal an upcoming correction that is currently taking place, or simply bold speculation based on analysis. If the whale is right, the market could see further declines; otherwise, liquidation of a nearly half-a-billion-dollar position will shake up liquidity. In a world where timing is everything, the insider whale case is a reminder of how thin the line is between genius and gambling.
To sum up, the mysterious Hyperliquid trader has become a symbol of the uncertainty of the cryptocurrency market. Will his bets be another hit or will they result in a spectacular failure? Time and subsequent tweets will tell. Investors should follow these events closely, because in cryptocurrencies one big fish can change the tide. Now we have seen one post trigger the largest takedown wave in history. Tomorrow we can witness how one post begins the greatest altseason.
