Crypto trader bags $160 million profit as Trump’s market bloodbath wipes out billions - here's how he did it

Crypto market crash: A crypto whale has reportedly made over $160 million in profit after perfectly timing a massive short bet on Bitcoin and Ethereum, just hours before markets plunged following US president Donald Trump’s surprise tariff announcement.

Whale Bets $1.1 Billion Against Bitcoin and Ethereum

On October 11, blockchain tracker Lookonchain revealed that the unidentified trader opened more than $1.1 billion in short positions against the world’s two largest cryptocurrencies, as per a report. It was a bold move and one that paid off fast.

Crypto Market Plunges Within 30 Hours

Within 30 hours, the crypto market went into freefall. Bitcoin tumbled to $105,262, while Ethereum and other top assets like Solana, Dogecoin, and XRP followed suit, as per a Beincrypto.com report. As prices nosedived, the whale’s bearish bet turned into a $160 million in realized profits.


According to Lookonchain’s data, the trader then began closing most of the short positions, keeping just 821.6 BTC, worth around $92 million, still in play, as per the Beincrypto.com report. The precision of the trade has raised concerns across the crypto community, with many speculating whether the investor had early insight into the macroeconomic shock that sparked the crash, as per the report.

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Trump’s China Tariff Announcement Sparks Panic

That shock came from the White House. On Friday, Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on Chinese imports and new export controls targeting key software industries, as per the Beincrypto.com report. The move rattled global investors, triggering panic selling across both traditional and crypto markets, as per the report.

Record-Breaking Liquidations Hit Global Crypto Traders

The result was one of the most violent sell-offs in crypto history. Data from CoinGlass shows that over 1.6 million traders were liquidated within 24 hours, wiping out $19.31 billion in leveraged positions, as reported by Beincrypto.com.

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Long Traders Suffer the Most Losses

Long traders, those betting on prices to rise, bore the brunt of the pain, losing $16.82 billion, as per the report. Even short sellers lost an additional $2.5 billion, underscoring just how chaotic the market became, according to Beincrypto.com.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Lead the Liquidations

Bitcoin led the liquidations with $5.37 billion wiped out, followed by Ethereum’s $4.43 billion, Solana’s $2 billion, and HYPE and XRP, which lost $890.37 million and $708.24 million, respectively, as per the report.

The decentralized exchange Hyperliquid handled the majority of the bloodbath, processing $10.3 billion in liquidations, more than half of all global losses. Bybit came next with $4.65 billion, followed by Binance and OKX with $2.39 billion and $1.21 billion, as reported by Beincrypto.com.

FAQs

What caused the sudden crypto market crash?

The crash followed Donald Trump’s announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, as per the Beincrypto.com report.

Which cryptocurrencies saw the biggest losses?

Bitcoin and Ethereum led with billions in liquidations, followed by Solana, HYPE, and XRP, as per the Beincrypto.com report.