A recently emerged Bitcoin whale, or big investor, continued to acquire Ether, transferring another $113 million worth of Bitcoin after seven years of dormancy.
The Bitcoin whale sold $76 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and opened a $295 million perpetual futures long position on Ether (ETH), Cointelegraph reported earlier Thursday.
The mysterious whale closed part of his perpetual futures positions and deposited another 1,000 BTC worth $113 million on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, most of which was sold to enter the long spot Ether position.
The whale held 55,700 spot Ether worth over $240 million, and another 300 BTC worth $34 million in his Hyperliquid balance, according to pseudonymous onchain analyst MLM, who added that there was another $167 million worth of Bitcoin in his main wallet, which would “likely be sent to Hyperliquid.”
“Either he caught some crazy bullish insider news, or he’s just gambling. The execution looked sloppy and rushed,” wrote the onchain sleuth in a Wednesday X post.
Traders often track large moves to gauge short-term market trends.
The hodler’s rotation began shortly after Bitcoin dipped near a two-week low of $112,000 on Wednesday, signaling “rising nerves in the market” ahead of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s forthcoming remarks and the Jackson Hole symposium Friday, which may provide key signals on September’s interest rate policy, Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget exchange, told Cointelegraph.
Some analysts pointed to a temporary Bitcoin price dislocation on Hyperliquid compared with other exchanges following the whale’s initial sale.
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Hyperliquid Bitcoin price dips 2% after whale’s first $76 million BTC sell
While the Bitcoin hodler’s first $76 million sale was modest compared to other large transactions, it was enough to trigger a price dislocation on Hyperliquid.
The initial $76 million sale caused Bitcoin’s price to fall by 200 basis points (bps) on the Hyperliquid exchange, with Bitcoin “now trading at a 30 bps discount compared to other exchanges,” MLM said in a Wednesday X post.
A 200 bps price drop equals a 2% price difference or about $2,267 per Bitcoin, assuming today’s spot price of $113,370, signaling a significant difference compared to other exchanges.
The move may suggest Hyperliquid’s order books lack the depth to absorb outsized trades without significant price impact.
Cointelegraph has approached Hyperliquid for comment on the exchange’s liquidity conditions.
Related: Ether trader nearly wiped out after epic run from $125K to $43M
Hyperliquid reached a new monthly high of $319 billion in trading volume in July, pushing decentralized finance perpetual futures platforms to a new cumulative high of $487 billion, Cointelegraph reported on Aug. 7.
Hyperliquid earned 35% of all blockchain revenue in July, capturing significant value at the expense of Solana, Ethereum and BNB Chain, VanEck researchers said in a monthly crypto recap report.
Hyperliquid has grown to become the sixth-largest derivatives exchange in the world, with over $12 billion of 24-hour open interest, up from 12th place since the beginning of April, CoinGecko data shows.
Hyperliquid gained popularity in April 2024 after launching spot trading with an aggressive listing strategy and an easy-to-navigate user interface.
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