Whale Sells 255 BTC, Opens $77.4 Million Short Position on Bitcoin and Ethereum as BTC Slides Below $87,000

Today, a major crypto whale attracted market attention after he sold 255 Bitcoin tokens worth $21.77 million at an average price of $85,378, according to transactions flagged by market analyst Lookonchain. After selling, the whale opened 10x leveraged short positions on 876.27 BTC (valued at $76.3 million) and 372.78 ETH (valued at $1.1 million), betting on drops in Bitcoin and Ethereum prices. This means that he now positions himself for downward price movements on decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid.

Of late, the prices of the two digital assets have dropped to lower levels as sell-offs continue to weigh down their movements. BTC and ETH are currently standing at $87,859 and $2,953, down 4.7% and 9.2% over the past week, respectively. This is a reflection of further declines in cryptocurrency markets as investor fear heightened despite the Fed’s recent interest rate cut last week, on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

Whale’s Short Positions Come Amid Struggles In Crypto Markets

The whale launched massive short positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum as he believes that the crypto prices will further fall. The institutional investor appears to be guided by some unfolding events in the larger crypto market. An important development being noticed in the market is that currently, large investors’ long positions are witnessing difficult situations as their profits have significantly decreased due to renewed price drops.

According to today’s data from Lookonchain, the profits of a whale who holds a long position in ETH and HYPE have dropped substantially because of poor market performance. As per the data, the big investor holds 59,733 ETH (worth $169 million) in long positions, with a liquidation price at $2,807. He also holds 565,557 HYPE (valued at $12.5 million) in a long position, with a liquidation price of $22.19. His wallet address, which once had almost $100 million in profit, currently holds $11.4 million in profit, a massive drop due to crypto price slumps.

Another big whale currently sits on $60 million loss on an Ethereum long position as selling pressure deepens ETH’s downtrend. His $600 million long ETH position, with an entry price of $3,167, is experiencing a drop of $60 million in profit. The wallet once had about $120 million in profits due to the recent price upturn, but those have now been erased as ETH sees declines. The liquidation price of his Ether long is set at $2,132.

Why Are Crypto Prices Going Down?

The majority of virtual assets currently face renewed downside momentum as broader market sentiment shifted to increased bearishness due to macroeconomic news.  Bloomberg Intelligence commodity strategist Mike McGlone connected the fresh struggles in Bitcoin and wider crypto markets to what he termed “post-inflation deflation,” reflecting the market’s performance after the Fed’s interest rate cut.

Since the interest rate reduction, crypto markets have experienced increased fragility while BTC dropped 25% as investors digest a Fed policy stance that delivered a rate cut but signaled a pause in 2026 to further assess the impact of the US federal government shutdown and potential new trade tariffs.

This week on Tuesday, December 15, the crypto market witnessed a severe crash, leading Bitcoin’s price to plummet from $90,296 to $85,381. The fall sent ripple effects on the bigger digital asset landscape, prompting investors and traders to reexamine the market’s immediate movements.

Market analysts pointed out factors that caused the downturn. Renewed selling pressure from big token holders caused further price falls, and shifting interest rate expectations affect the performance of high-risk assets like crypto.