Crypto Whale Doubles $192M Bet: Market Meltdown or Mastermind?

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In the fevered world of crypto, where fortunes rise and fall like the tides, one trader has emerged as both hero and villain. This enigmatic figure, known only as 0xb317, recently pocketed a staggering $192 million by betting against the crypto market. Now, like a gambler who’s had a lucky streak at the roulette table, they’re back for more.

This time, the trader has opened a $163 million leveraged perpetual contract to short Bitcoin on Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives exchange. The position, leveraged at 10x, is already showing a tidy profit of $3.5 million. But should Bitcoin defy expectations and soar to $125,500, the entire bet will crumble like a house of cards.

The trader, a veritable Moby Dick of the crypto seas, first made headlines by opening a short position just 30 minutes before Trump’s tariff announcement last Friday. The announcement sent the crypto market into a tailspin, but our whale emerged $192 million richer. Timing, as they say, is everything.

“Insider Whale” or Just Really Lucky?

The crypto community, never one to shy away from conspiracy theories, has labeled 0xb317 an “insider whale.” After all, how else could one explain such uncanny timing? Some speculate that the trader themselves orchestrated the weekend’s leverage flush, which left the market reeling.

“The crazy part is that he shorted another nine figures worth of BTC and ETH minutes before the cascade happened,” remarked MLM, a keen observer of the crypto world. “And this was just publicly on Hyperliquid. Imagine what he did on CEXs or elsewhere.”

“I’m pretty sure this guy played a huge role in what happened today.”

Since Friday’s crash, over 250 wallets on Hyperliquid have lost their millionaire status, according to HyperTracker. Meanwhile, another trader, perhaps more optimistic or simply reckless, opened a 40x leveraged $11 million long position in Bitcoin. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

“Crypto people are realizing today what it means to have unregulated markets: Insider trading, corruption, crime, and zero accountability,” commented Janis Kluge, a researcher at SWP Berlin. Ah, the sweet smell of chaos.

Binacle’s Response: “Nothing to See Here”

Amidst the turmoil, fingers have been pointed at Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. Rumors swirled that Binance’s order books and market makers faltered, stop-losses failed to execute, and traders were liquidated en masse. Several tokens reportedly depegged or crashed to zero. But Binance, ever the calm in the storm, dismissed the chaos as a mere “display issue.”

“We are aware of speculation in the market regarding the causes of this event, with some focusing on the role of the Binance platform,” the company stated on Sunday. They assured users that their core futures and spot matching engines and API trading remained operational.

Binance also denied that the depegging of USDE, BNSOL, and WBETH caused the crash. However, in a gesture of goodwill (or perhaps guilt), they offered $283 million in compensation to traders who were liquidated while holding these tokens as collateral. The exchange’s native token, BNB, has since surged 14% in the past 24 hours, surpassing $1,300 once more.

And so, the crypto circus continues, with its cast of whales, traders, and exchanges, all dancing to the tune of volatility. One thing is certain: in this unregulated Wild West, fortunes are made and lost faster than you can say “blockchain.” 🐳💰🚀

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2025-10-13 08:49