A crypto whale who recently pocketed $192 million from a perfectly timed short is back with another massive bearish bet against Bitcoin.
Key Takeaways:
- A crypto whale reopened a $163M Bitcoin short after profiting $192M from a trade before Trump’s tariff announcement.
- The trader’s timing has raised accusations of insider trading and possibly triggering a weekend liquidation cascade.
- Binance denied any technical fault during the crash, offering $283M in compensation to users affected.
Blockchain data shows that the trader, identified by the address 0xb317 on the decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid, opened a $163 million short position on Bitcoin late Sunday.
The new 10x leveraged bet is already up $3.5 million in unrealized profit, though it risks liquidation if Bitcoin climbs to $125,500.
‘Insider Whale’ Accused After $192M Crypto Short Timed Before Trump Tariff News
The trader gained notoriety last week after opening a nine-figure short position just 30 minutes before Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, which triggered a market-wide plunge and earned the address nearly $192 million in profit.
The timing has sparked accusations of insider trading, with observers calling the entity an “insider whale.”
Crypto analyst MLM noted that the trader reportedly shorted additional amounts of BTC and ETH minutes before the crash, suggesting they might have fueled the weekend’s liquidation cascade.
“This guy played a huge role in what happened today,” MLM posted. On-chain trackers later revealed that over 250 wallets lost millionaire status on Hyperliquid following the selloff.
Not everyone is bearish, however. Another trader reportedly went long $11 million on Bitcoin with 40x leverage, betting on a rebound after the market chaos.
Still, the sharp volatility and lack of oversight in decentralized trading have reignited debates about crypto market integrity.
“Crypto people are realizing today what it means to have unregulated markets — insider trading, corruption, crime, and zero accountability,” said Janis Kluge, a researcher at SWP Berlin.
Meanwhile, Binance faced fresh scrutiny amid rumors that its systems malfunctioned during the selloff.
Several traders reported failed stop-loss orders, token depeggings, and sudden liquidations. Binance responded, denying any technical fault and attributing the event to a “display issue.”
“We are aware of speculation in the market regarding the causes of this event,” the exchange stated, confirming that its core futures, spot, and API systems remained operational.
Binance later said it would compensate affected users, offering $283 million to those holding depegged collateral assets such as USDE, BNSOL, and WBETH.
Trump’s Approval Hits New Lows amid Government Shutdown
US President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen sharply, with just 40% of Americans approving and 58% disapproving, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The drop follows growing criticism of his decision to militarize law enforcement. A separate HarrisX survey showed a slightly higher 46% approval, underscoring the deep partisan divide across the country.
The decline comes amid an ongoing government shutdown triggered by Congress’s failure to pass spending bills by the October 1 deadline.
Trump blamed Democrats, saying he would target their programs in future budget cuts. Meanwhile, on the Polymarket prediction platform, 86% of traders expect the shutdown to continue past October 15, reflecting waning confidence in Washington’s ability to compromise.
Trump’s pro-crypto stance, a central theme of his 2024 campaign, is also drawing scrutiny.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has warned that Trump’s crypto involvement could pose ethical risks if he profits from related ventures while in office.
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