Large Whale Shorts XRP with $20,000,000+ on Hyperliquid

A large crypto whale has opened a massive XRP short trade worth over $20 million on Hyperliquid despite the improving market conditions.

Market surveillance resource Lookonchain first called attention to the trade, which began after the whale created a new wallet and moved $7 million worth of USDC to the leading decentralized exchange (DEX) platform Hyperliquid today.

The move comes at a time when XRP and the broader market have met resistance to the ongoing recovery push. For context, after collapsing over 13% to a low of $2.06 on Nov. 4, XRP rebounded the next day, gaining 6.27% and extending the uptick, as it hit a high of $2.41 earlier today.

However, XRP faced resistance at this $2.41 level, with Bitcoin also seeing a similar roadblock around $104,187. Now, both tokens have seen considerable declines, and the Hyperliquid whale believes the downtrend could continue, opening short positions for BTC and XRP worth a combined $136.35 million.

Onchain data shows that he opened the XRP position ($20.35 million) when XRP changed hands at $2.30, with the BTC position ($116 million) having an entry price of $103,012. Both positions hold a 20x leverage, with the whale using a cross-margin technique to offset losses from any trade with profits from the other.

As of press time, he is seeing gains on his XRP position, but losses on the BTC position. Specifically, with Bitcoin currently changing hands at $103,055, the whale is nursing mild losses of $47,566. Meanwhile, as XRP trades for $2.28, he is observing a profit of $129,838. 

Short XRP Position Appears Safe

Notably, the liquidation price for the XRP position rests at $2.845, nearly a 25% increase. The last time XRP saw this price was on Oct. 9, putting the trade in a relatively safe position unless market conditions flip quickly. Meanwhile, the liquidation price for the BTC position sits at $107,490, just a 4.3% rise. Bitcoin last saw this price as early as three days ago.

Lookonchain found that the individual behind that trade has a knack for gambling, with persistent transfers to gambling platforms such as Stake. 

While his BTC trade may be in a critical position, the XRP trade appears safe at the current price. This aligns with recent commentaries from market analysts, who have suggested that XRP could correct further from here before recovering. For instance, Income Sharks claimed that those who missed the chance to buy XRP below $2 could soon get another opportunity.

Notably, XRP has been a subject of multiple short trades in the past, especially during market uncertainties. In one instance, a trader opened short positions for XRP and BTC worth a combined $157 million on Sept. 26, only to face partial liquidation three days later. Interestingly, the trader doubled down with another $17.6 million worth of short XRP position, using 20x leverage.