Crypto Trader Netted $6.8M on BTC & ETH Bets

A crypto whale leveraged high-stakes bets on Bitcoin and Ethereum, securing a $6.8 million profit following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a Crypto Strategic Reserve, according to on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain.

The whale deposited $5.9 million in USD Coin on 1 March into the decentralised derivatives exchange Hyperliquid to open 50x leveraged long positions, according to crypto analytics platform HyperDash.

The strategy carried significant risk—just a 2% market drop would have triggered liquidation.

Instead, prices surged after Trump’s 2 March announcement on Truth Social, where he named Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano as part of the reserve initiative.

The whale's first Ethereum long position was placed at 2:49 PM UTC, acquiring ETH contracts at $2,190–$2,202.

In total, around $4 million was used to create $200 million worth of leveraged positions.

Then at 10:24 AM ET, the whale began closing positions, sparking speculation of potential insider trading.

On-chain data shows Bitcoin exits between $87,500 and $91,399 and Ethereum positions sold above $2,270.

By Sunday afternoon, the trader had fully exited most positions, locking in millions while mitigating exposure to volatility.

Insider Trading Speculations Run Amok

With 50x leverage, a mere 2% drop in Bitcoin or Ethereum prices would have triggered liquidation, raising suspicions of insider trading.

Carl Moon, founder and host of The Moon Show, called it potentially "the biggest insider trading event" he has witnessed.

Meanwhile, one X (formerly known as Twitter) user argued that if the trader had prior knowledge of Trump’s announcement, they would have also placed longs on other tokens mentioned.

Crypto researcher “FatMan” countered that an insider could have been aware of the timing of the tweet without knowing its full content.

Whether this trade was driven by speculation or privileged information remains uncertain.