Whale opens $50M ETH short, $25M BTC long; liquidation risks

Wallet 0x50b3 opened a 25x leveraged short worth $50.55 million on ether and a 20x leveraged long worth $25.27 million on bitcoin, staking 23,151 ETH on the short leg and 323.72 BTC on the long, according to on-chain analytics. At the time the positions were recorded, ether traded near $2,193 and bitcoin near $78,400. The ETH short carried a liquidation price of $2,288 and the BTC long a liquidation price of $70,325.

The positions pair a leveraged short on ETH with a leveraged long on BTC. The BTC long sat about $8,075 above its liquidation level, roughly 10.3% of the BTC market price at the time. The ETH short’s liquidation level was about $95 above the market price, or roughly 4.3% higher than the ETH price at the time.

On-chain analytics flagged the trades as large, concentrated wagers across the two largest cryptocurrencies. The 25x leverage on the ETH short and 20x leverage on the BTC long increase sensitivity to price moves; the ETH short in particular was close to its liquidation threshold when entered.

Other large holders moved in different directions. A whale linked to Matrixport increased long exposure to 114,160 ETH, valued at about $248.65 million across four wallets; that position showed approximately $10.3 million in unrealized losses. A long-term ETH holder that previously acquired 11,005 ETH roughly a decade ago returned to the market and bought 1,951 ETH for about $4.26 million in USDC at an average near $2,182.

Selling activity was visible among other institutional-linked addresses. A wallet tied to World Liberty Financial sold 4,870 ETH for about $10.61 million in USDC at roughly $2,178, several hours before a broader market shift. Two addresses possibly linked to Gammafund deposited 10,976 ETH, worth about $23.9 million, into Binance within a single hour; on-chain analytics flagged those deposits as likely exits rather than intra-exchange transfers.

Market participants continued to monitor price levels, on-chain transfers and concentrated deposits to exchanges as these positions and flows developed. Movements in ether and bitcoin prices relative to the stated liquidation levels will determine whether the leveraged positions remain open or are closed automatically by exchanges.