A well-known “50x ETH” whale has made waves in the cryptocurrency market with a series of high-stakes trades, revealing the massive influence that large investors can have on the price movements of tokens.
Yesterday, this whale sold off a substantial portion of its $LINK holdings, offloading a total of 1.34 million $LINK tokens on-chain for $18.36 million, at an average price of around $13.7 per token. However, the move was not without its consequences, as the whale faced a loss of $512,000, representing a 2.7% decline in its position.
Concurrently, the whale was making another set of intricate trades that proved its skill in steering through the tumultuous seas of cryptocurrency. This time, the whale closed its $LINK longs on the decentralized exchange GMX, realizing a profit of $195,000. But lo and behold, right after this, the whale flipped its $LINK longs on Hyperliquid into a $BTC short position—exactly what a whale should do if it wants to remain a whale. This trade is currently showing an unrealized profit of $290,000.
At this crucial moment for Chainlink and Bitcoin, the market is undergoing some substantial shifts. Chainlink, which is famous for its decentralized oracle services, is just now completing a major unlock of its $LINK tokens. Also during this timeframe, Bitcoin has experienced a move upward of more than 4% and is once again closing in on the almost mythical $85,000 level.
Whale’s $18M Dump Amid Chainlink’s Unlock and Bitcoin’s Surge
Deciding to offload 1.34 million $LINK tokens at a price of ~$13.7 was a calculated move by the whale that reflects the market’s broader dynamics. With the price of $LINK dropping a bit, the whale selling served as a sort of market indicator that $LINK just wasn’t going to hold its price, especially considering that at the same time, Chainlink was undergoing a massive token unlock. That’s where a huge portion of previously locked tokens gets released back into circulation.
Token unlocks usually increase supply and tend to hit prices.
This whale didn’t wait; it sold before the unlock surge could further depress prices.
The "50x ETH" whale dumped 1.34M $LINK on-chain for $18.36M at ~$13.7 in the past two hours, losing $512K (-2.7%).
At the same time, the whale closed its $LINK longs on #GMX for a $195K profit and flipped its $LINK longs on #Hyperliquid into $BTC shorts (40x leverage), now… https://t.co/JntnK2XwK2 pic.twitter.com/8XGRigqMcM
— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) March 14, 2025
The whale lost $512,000 on the $LINK dump but showed quick thinking in closing $LINK longs on GMX before a downturn that might have been influenced by an ongoing unlock event. The decision to close these long positions and secure a $195,000 profit from them was a more profitable short-term play than hanging onto the $LINK that was about to decrease in value. Essentially, the whale is a little less “Linky” than he was a few days ago.
The larger move, however, was when the whale swapped its $LINK longs, flipping them into a leveraged short position on Bitcoin, using Hyperliquid. Leveraging a 40x position, the whale made a strategic bet against Bitcoin, a decision that is now paying off substantially.
This brazen step is especially remarkable when one considers today’s market, in which Bitcoin routinely trades above $80,000 and almost consistently challenges the $85,000 mark. In fact, critics now say Bitcoin is in a classic bubble. And even if Bitcoin could somehow justify a price between $80,000 and $85,000, it seems clear that it has no such PE (price to earnings) ratio. Or if it does, no one knows what it is. What’s also not in doubt is that proponents of Bitcoin regard it as the future of money.
The Role of Market Unlocks and Large Whale Moves
The token unlock for Chainlink creates another layer of complexity. In the crypto market, it’s common for unlock events to take place, but they’re obviously not taken lightly by investors. That’s because these events usually mean that there’s a sudden increase in the number of unlocked tokens that are now in circulation, and these tokens are going to be sold off—potentially.
So, what happened at this most recent unlock event for Chainlink? Well, one whale in particular took it upon himself to sell 1.34 million $LINK tokens at that time, which yielded a price of about $6.83 per token. This isn’t a small operation. This whale, during that recent unlock event, decided to do potentially the worst thing a whale can do, which is to dump tokens and create a sell-off frenzy.
At the same time, retail and institutional investors have been paying more attention to the current bull run of Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency now teeters on the edge of the $85,000 value, and some market analysts even allege it has surpassed that threshold. Speculation swirls in the air, as it even tends to do with Bitcoin, about whether this bull run will carry the cryptocurrency even higher or if a we-were-due correction is just around the bend. Meanwhile, the aforementioned whale shifting to a short position in BTC, with a staggering 40x worth of leverage in play no less, seems to be a clear pivot. Of course, this could all be mere optics, as they say.
This whale’s actions show the intricate and often unpredictable world of trading in cryptocurrencies. It isn’t just a buy-and-hold animal; this creature makes many liquidations. It isn’t just a short seller either; it goes long so liquidators can’t catch it.
The situation in the world of cryptocurrency stays dynamic, and only time can reveal whether the successful maneuvers of the whale will prove profitable in the long run or if the market’s wild swings will cause a reversal of outcomes.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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