Key Insights:
- •Hyperliquid crypto whale expands short position to $489M after $192M crash profit.
- •Position uses 10x leverage with Bitcoin liquidation price at $124,260.
- •Former BitForex CEO Garrett Jin is reportedly connected to a controversial wallet.
A HYPE whale that banked $192 million shorting the recent market crash has doubled down on bearish positioning.
The whale has now built a short position worth approximately $489 million over the past two days.
According to data from Hyperliquid crypto block explorer Hypurrscan, the position uses 10x leverage with a Bitcoin liquidation price of $124,260.
The whale has more than doubled the bet since yesterday, after initially opening with $163 million.
Hyperliquid Crypto Whale Doubles Short to $489M with 10x Leverage
The crypto investor has built a $489 million short position on Hyperliquid crypto using 10x leverage with Bitcoin liquidation at $124,260 according to Hypurrscan data.
The position is more than triple the initial $163 million opened yesterday.
The whale initially gained attention two months ago with $11 billion worth of BTC in their holdings on the decentralized perpetual exchange.
Last week, the Hyperliquid whale opened $900 million worth of shorts on Bitcoin and Ethereum before the market crash.
The timing of the Friday short opening, less than one hour before Trump’s tariff announcement, led to community dubbing the wallet owner “insider whale.”
The position sizing shows extreme conviction or risk tolerance given the leverage employed. A 10% adverse price movement would generate 100% losses on the position at 10x leverage.
The whale’s willingness to maintain this exposure suggests either strong bearish conviction or hedging against larger long positions held elsewhere.
Former BitForex CEO Garrett Jin Connected to Wallet
The identity behind the Hyperliquid crypto whale wallet has not been definitively confirmed, but blockchain investigators pointed to a potential connection with Garrett Jin, former CEO of now-defunct crypto exchange BitForex.
Crypto researcher Eye initially alleged the wallet belonged to Jin, leading Binance CEO to repost the thread requesting verification.
Later commentary from blockchain detective ZachXBT suggested the wallet more likely belongs to one of Jin’s friends rather than Jin directly.
Jin essentially confirmed the connection on Sunday through a lengthy X post explaining the bearish insights and addressing the controversy.
Jin’s explanation emphasized that market decline was driven by both macro factors and internal structural instability.
From a technical analysis perspective, Jin shared bearish insights citing overbought signals in US tech stocks, A-shares tech stocks, and major cryptocurrencies, including MACD divergence.
The analysis noted a historical positive correlation between cryptos and US tech stocks and suggested risk transfer between the two markets.
The deeper issue identified was exchanges offering high leverage on assets lacking intrinsic value to meet user demand and boost profits.
Such high leverage historically existed only in forex markets where underlying assets have value support, lower volatility, and bank-provided liquidity. Jin targeted the Hyperliquid platform’s high-leverage offerings.
The trader observed a structural shift in US equities from risk-on to risk-off trades during the past week.
He mentioned that the crypto market showed similar patterns supporting the bearish thesis. Escalating US-China trade tensions since September 26 were largely ignored by investors driven by bullish sentiment before the crash.
China announced a “special port fee” on US ships docking in Chinese ports starting October 14, with plans for annual increases just before the crash.
China simultaneously launched antitrust investigations into companies like Qualcomm. President Trump responded with calls to ban Chinese planes from flying through Russian airspace, escalating tensions.
Multiple Whales Hold $180M+ in Hyperliquid Crypto Shorts
Besides the whale with $192 million in crash profits, two other traders with major gains on Hyperliquid crypto are heavily shorting markets, according to Lookonchain data.
Whale 0x9eec9 with $31.8 million in cumulative profits currently holds $98 million in shorts across DOGE, ETH, PEPE, XRP, and ASTER. The diversified short portfolio targets both major and minor cryptocurrencies.
Whale 0x9263 with $13.2 million in cumulative profits holds $84 million in shorts on SOL and Bitcoin.
Combined, the three whales hold over $671 million in short positions on the platform.
The coordinated bearish positioning across multiple large traders suggests shared conviction about downside scenarios or potential coordination.