A crypto trader made $6.8 million by betting on Bitcoin and Ether with 50x leverage, placing trades just before US President Donald Trump confirmed plans for a Crypto Strategic Reserve.
Whale’s Strategic BTC and ETH Bets
According to crypto analytics platform HyperDash, the trader—often referred to as a “whale”—deposited $5.9 million in USD Coin (USDC) on March 1 into the decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid. This capital was used to enter leveraged long positions on Bitcoin and Ether.
- The first Ether long position was placed on March 2 at 2:49 pm UTC.
- Just 35 minutes later, Trump announced the Crypto Strategic Reserve, sparking an immediate price surge.
- The trader used around $4 million to create $200 million in leveraged positions at 50x.
- The whale started closing ETH positions just 16 minutes after Trump’s announcement.
Some have speculated whether insider trading was involved, given the timing of these trades.
Bitcoin Trades and Market Reaction
The trader’s first Bitcoin long position was placed on March 1 at 10:44 pm UTC, when BTC was trading around $86,033. Many of these positions were later closed as Bitcoin’s price climbed to between $87,512 and $91,399—some even before Trump’s announcement.
Most of the whale’s trades have now been closed, locking in profits of over $6.8 million, per HyperDash data.
Timing of Trump’s Crypto Reserve Posts
It’s worth noting that Trump’s first post about the Crypto Strategic Reserve only mentioned XRP, Solana, and Cardano.
- Bitcoin and Ether weren’t confirmed as part of the reserve until nearly two hours later.
- In the meantime, BTC and ETH prices were rising, but not as sharply as the initially mentioned tokens.
The sequence of events has raised questions about whether the whale had prior knowledge of the announcement.
