A cryptocurrency trader who recently increased their account from $125,000 to more than $43 million was almost liquidated on Wednesday for $6.2 million after Ether briefly fell near the $4,000 level.
The liquidation took place on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid as Ether (ETH) dipped close to $4,000 amid a broader market correction, highlighting the volatility that can catch even seasoned traders off guard.
It came two days after the trader had turned an initial investment of $125,000 into more than $43 million at its peak, before locking in nearly $7 million worth of profit on Monday, Cointelegraph reported.
“This legendary trader went long on $ETH again but was liquidated in the market crash, losing $6.22M,” said blockchain data platform Lookonchain in a Wednesday X post. “Now only $771K remains—4 months of gains nearly wiped out in just 2 days.”
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The market downturn also hit other prominent traders. Multimillionaire leverage trader James Wynn’s long Ether position was also partially liquidated, leaving him with a partial long of just $300,000 worth of ETH, which stands to be liquidated if Ether’s price falls below $4,113, according to Lookonchain’s Tuesday X post.
Wynn is among the industry’s most prominent traders expecting a forthcoming altcoin season during the current cycle.
On Wednesday, after the partial liquidation, Wynn wrote that he was “all-in” with no more stablecoins left to invest, adding that he will be forced to “drastically cut down” living expenses if the altcoin season doesn’t occur.
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Ether whales have panicked and sold into the market downturn
Some whales have panicked and sold millions of dollars of ETH during the current market downturn.
Three large whales have collectively sold $147 million worth of Ether, including $77 million sold by wallet “0x1D8d,” $57 million by wallet “0x5A8E” and over $12 million by wallet “0x3684,” according to Lookonchain.
Other savvy traders are seeing the market correction as a buying opportunity.
On Wednesday, a wallet labelled “0x159” — a top 100 trader tracked by Nansen — acquired $3.4 million worth of Ether. In comparison, ETH whale “0x929” bought $3.16 million and whale wallet “0x5dc” acquired $2.9 million worth of ETH, Nansen data shows.
The market downturn even inspired the notorious Radiant Capital exploiter’s wallet to acquire $16.6 million worth of Ether.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency investors are focusing their attention on US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s monetary policy speech at Jackson Hole on Friday, which is poised to be the week’s “defining moment,” according to Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at digital asset platform Nexo.
“The next move in crypto may hinge more on central bank signals than on charts,” the analyst told Cointelegraph.
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