Whale’s Wild Ride: $100M ETH Loss to $13M BTC Gamble at 20x Leverage

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In the tempestuous sea of crypto, a leviathan has surfaced, shedding its ether scales and donning a bitcoin crown. With a flick of its colossal tail, it has cast aside a $100 million ether short, nursing a mere $260,000 wound, only to plunge headlong into a $13.43 million bitcoin bet at 20x leverage. A gamble so bold, it makes the roulette wheel blush.

  • Key Takeaways:

  • A whale ditched a $100M ETH short at a $260K loss on May 26, then dove into a 20x BTC long.
  • The BTC long snags 175.04 BTC at $76,662, with a liquidation cliff just 5% away. A tightrope walk over a volcano, if you will.
  • Lookonchain data reveals the whale’s conviction has swung from ETH gloom to BTC euphoria. A fickle beast, indeed.

Trader Flips From ETH Short to Leveraged Bitcoin Long

A shadowy figure, cloaked in pseudonymity, has executed a maneuver so audacious it could only be born in the fevered dreams of a high- leverage trader. On May 26, this crypto titan closed a $100 million ether short, nursing a trivial $260,000 scratch. But the drama didn’t end there. Within hours, the same wallet unleashed a 20x leveraged long on 175.04 bitcoin, a $13.43 million wager that the market will soar. Ether languishes at $2,090.55, while bitcoin struts at $76,662. A tale of two coins, one trader, and boundless hubris.

Image source: X

Bitcoin.com News had chronicled this saga yesterday, but the latest twist is a spectacle to behold. The whale, it seems, has decided ether’s doom is overdone and bitcoin is the golden calf of near-term profits. A pivot so sharp, it could slice through the blockchain itself.

At 20x leverage, this position dangles over a liquidation abyss, triggered by a mere 5% price swing. A high-wire act without a net, performed by a trader whose conviction is as deep as their pockets. The $260,000 loss on a $100 million position? A mere 0.26% drawdown, suggesting the short was closed with barely a scratch. A flea bite on a mammoth.

Onchain Whale Activity Highlights High-Risk Market Positioning

This trade unfolds against a backdrop of crypto chaos, where bitcoin ETFs bled $1.26 billion in the week of May 18-22, 2026, while altcoins sipped at the trough of fresh inflows. Yet, bitcoin stands firm above $76,000, a beacon of resilience in a sea of uncertainty. Analysts, ever the optimists, paint rosy pictures: Michael Saylor predicts BTC will breach $1 million by year’s end, while Arthur Hayes settles for a modest $125,000. Dreams, it seems, are cheap.

Whether this 20x BTC long is genius or folly hinges on the whims of the market. At $76,600, bitcoin is a far cry from its 2026 highs, and a 5% swing in either direction will write this trader’s epitaph. A gamble so grand, it could either crown a king or bury a fool.

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2026-05-26 13:57