Key highlights:
- Insider whale moves nearly $500M in Bitcoin shorts
- $192M earned in minutes during a sudden market crash
- Traders and analysts speculate on the whale’s identity
A trader known as an “insider whale” has increased their short position against Bitcoin on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid to nearly $500 million. Over the past two days, they have increased their shorts using 10x leverage, and the liquidation price now stands at $124,270.
According to blockchain explorer Hypurrscan, the short position has reached $496 million. Just yesterday, the position was half that size. The trader opened it with $163 million and continues to aggressively increase volumes.
Source: HypurrScan
$192 million profit on the market crash
The whale first drew attention two months ago when $11 billion worth of Bitcoin was discovered in its portfolio. Last week, they opened $900 million in short positions across Bitcoin and Ethereum.
On October 10, less than an hour before US President Trump announced new tariffs, the whale’s short bet proved highly profitable.
Following the announcement, the cryptocurrency market collapsed, and the trader earned $192 million on the short. This unusual timing sparked speculation, earning them the nickname “insider whale.”
Who is behind the wallet?
The wallet owner’s identity has not been officially confirmed, but blockchain investigators found a possible connection to Garrett Jin, former head of the now-defunct BitForex exchange.
Researcher Eye first suggested Jin was behind the trades. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao launched an investigation on the social media platform X, asking for verification. Later, analysts like ZachXBT speculated that the wallet likely belongs to one of Jin’s associates.
This is not new information as @emmettgallic already revealed the transfer from the HL whale to Garrett Jin two days ago.
The only direct connection is a 40K USDT transfer and everything else in this post is unconfirmed theories.
It seems more likely to be a friend of Jin. pic.twitter.com/7f9Tzg9aU1
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) October 12, 2025
On October 12, Jin appeared to clarify his connection to the wallet by replying to Zhao on X:
“Hi, thanks for sharing my personal information. Just to clarify, I have no connections to the Trump family or Donald Trump Jr.—this isn’t insider trading.”
Minutes later, Jin added:
“The fund is not mine—it’s my clients’ funds. We manage the nodes and provide them with our own analytics.”
Kraken: Best crypto exchange for security & reliability
- Buy, sell, and trade 400+ cryptocurrencies with industry-leading security
- Spot, Futures & Margin trading – leverage up to 5x for advanced traders
- Earn rewards with staking on top cryptocurrencies
- 24/7 customer support and high liquidity for fast trades
- Regulated in the US with strong compliance and security measures
- 13+ million users worldwide
Source:: Insider Whale Profits with $500 Million Short Against Bitcoin