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Ahmed Barakat
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Jeffrey Huang, known as Machi Big Brother, saw his Hyperliquid trading account drop from a peak of $12.25 million to just $21,000 after liquidation on October 15, 2026.
Lookonchain said Huang had turned an initial $56,000 into $12.25 million over four months before the balance fell to about $21,800. The account’s near-total retreat shows how quickly leveraged gains can disappear.
The Hyperliquid liquidation came as Bitcoin fell below $81,000 and Ethereum approached $2,380 during a derivatives selloff. When prices move against leveraged positions, falling collateral values can trigger forced closures, adding sell orders to an already weak market.
Bitget Research put liquidations across crypto derivatives at approximately $811 million on October 14, while open interest remained near $140.9 billion after the selloff. A separate 24-hour liquidation wave leading into October 9 had reached $1.09 billion, including about $1.05 billion in long positions, leaving bullish exposure particularly vulnerable to another sharp decline.
Macro pressure added to the risk-off move. September annual inflation was reported at 3.7%, above the 3.6% market forecast, a hotter reading that can weigh on risk assets by reinforcing expectations of tighter monetary conditions; inflation and rate-cut concerns were part of the market’s broader pressure.
Ethereum also faced a flow headwind: U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $542.2 million in weekly outflows for the week ending October 9. With BTC below $81,000 and ETH nearing $2,380, the liquidation episode unfolded amid pressure on both market prices and leveraged positioning, rather than in isolation.
The $80,000–$81,000 Bitcoin support zone became a key focus as BTC slipped beneath $81,000. A break through a closely watched area can intensify risk management and liquidations.
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Machi Big Brother Flipped From Trading Genius to Liquidation Victim
The reported figures trace a dramatic arc: $56,000 at the start, a $12.25 million peak after four months, and approximately $21,800 remaining after liquidation. The account-value decline is about 99.8% of the reported peak.
Hyperliquid perpetual futures allow traders to take exposure larger than their posted collateral through leverage. If losses reduce margin below the required level, positions can be forcibly closed; the resulting balance depends on collateral, position changes, and execution.
That distinction is central when assessing crypto leverage. A peak account value can reflect exposure to unrealized gains, while a liquidation can sharply reduce remaining collateral.
Related Hyperliquid activity has included large leveraged Ether exposure, but each position must be assessed on its own evidence. The market context around a large Hyperliquid Ethereum position underscores the scale of derivatives trading on the venue, not the exact positions or losses behind Huang’s reported account reversal.
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A 25x Ethereum Long Puts Renewed Risk in Focus
Machi Big Brother returned to trading shortly after the liquidation and opened another Ethereum long using 25x leverage. A long position benefits if ETH rises, but leverage magnifies the impact of adverse price movement and leaves a smaller margin buffer before forced closure.
October 15 event attributed the account’s rise from $56,000 to $12.25 million and subsequent fall to about $21,800 to the trading episode. The next concrete risk marker is ETH’s price relative to the new long: without verified position terms, its liquidation threshold remains unknown.
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