01 Precise shorting operations
On October 11, 2025, the cryptocurrency market experienced a thrilling crash, and on the eve of this storm, a mysterious early Bitcoin holder initiated an astonishing operation.
Just 30 minutes before Trump announced a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, this Whale shorted positions worth up to $1.1 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum on the Hyperliquid exchange.
This trader is considered a veteran participant from the Satoshi Nakamoto era, with a Bitcoin holding that reached an astonishing 86,000 bits as early as 2011.
Starting from October 9th, this Whale quietly transferred a large amount of funds to the Hyperliquid exchange and established high-leverage shorting positions on Bitcoin and Ethereum, awaiting the arrival of a market storm.
02 Tariff policies ignite the market
With the announcement of Trump’s tariff news, the cryptocurrency market was thrown into chaos.
Bitcoin price Plummeting from $120,000 to below $102,000, a drop of nearly fifteen percentage points, the entire cryptocurrency market experienced over $19 billion in liquidations within 24 hours, affecting more than 1.66 million investors.
On-chain data reveals that this Whale closed most of its positions when the market hit the bottom, making a profit of 190 million to 200 million dollars in just one day.
This operation has sparked speculation and discussion in the market about the possibility of "insider trading."
03 Market Fluctuation and Recovery
As of October 20, the cryptocurrency market has shown signs of a broad strengthening.
According to Gate platform data, the trading price of Bitcoin has risen to $108,695.5, an increase of 1.58% within the day.
In addition to Bitcoin, Ethereum increased by 2.79%, Dogecoin rose by 3.36%, SUI coin went up by 4.15%, and ENA coin climbed by 5.25%.
In the last 24 hours, over 100,000 people worldwide have been liquidated, with a total liquidation amount of $268 million. Among them, the largest single liquidation occurred on Hyperliquid-BTC, worth $11.8563 million.
04 Whale operations raise suspicions of insider trading
When the precise shorting opportunity coincides with huge profits, the word "coincidence" seems so powerless.
On Twitter, on-chain analyst @mlmabc wrote: "This is just a public trade on Hyperliquid; imagine what he did on centralized exchanges or elsewhere. I am very sure he is a key figure in today’s events." This tweet quickly garnered over a million views.
This is not an isolated incident. According to a report by the non-profit investigative organization ProPublica, since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, at least a dozen high-ranking officials from the executive branch have engaged in unusually precise stock trading with congressional aides.
They completed the sell-off ahead of the market’s plunge due to tariff policies.
05 The Regulatory Dilemma of the Cryptocurrency Market
This event has once again sparked discussions about the regulation of the cryptocurrency market, information asymmetry, and the manipulation capabilities of large funds.
In theory, there are three lines of defense in the U.S. to prevent government officials from engaging in insider trading: laws, regulatory agencies, and congressional oversight. However, during the Trump era, these three lines of defense almost simultaneously failed.
The STOCK Act, passed in 2012, clearly prohibits any public officials from using non-public government information for securities trading, but for thirteen years, it has never been used to prosecute anyone.
Former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent once stated, "No one should be allowed to enrich themselves through public office while in office. Members of Congress will never be allowed to engage in the kind of Memecoin trading that the President is currently involved in." However, Dent is no longer in Congress.
06 Market Outlook and Risk Warning
According to Gate’s market analysis on October 20, the key support range for Bitcoin is between $106,000 and $108,000, with resistance around $118,000 to $120,000.
If Bitcoin cannot break through the $118,000-$120,000 area, a pullback may occur.
Technical indicators show that some analysts point out that BTC is forming a "cup and handle" or ascending triangle pattern—if confirmed, these patterns suggest potential for an upward breakout.
However, in certain time frames, the RSI and MACD may signal overbought conditions or weakening momentum—indicating a need for caution.
Trading Tips: Before placing an order, please wait for confirmation (such as closing above resistance or below support). Use stop-loss – if the price falls below support, the downside risk increases. Pay attention to trading volume: a real breakout or drop should have corresponding trading volume support.
Future Outlook
As the cryptocurrency market continues to evolve, how to establish a fairer and more transparent trading environment while maintaining innovative vitality has become an important issue facing the industry. This game between whales and retail investors not only reveals the potential problem of information asymmetry in the market but also indicates that the cryptocurrency market is seeking new price support points.
