Today, the crypto market witnessed a strong boom as Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high, leading to significant growth in many other currencies. However, this reflects a starkly contrasting picture: While some traders are making enormous profits, many others are facing substantial losses, even reaching millions of dollars.
One of the typical examples of this strong volatility is the story of Qwatio, a well-known trader in the Hyperliquid community and regarded as a 'whale' of this trading platform. Although he has recorded significant profits in the past, Qwatio is now facing a disastrous failure after his Short positions were nearly wiped out, resulting in a loss of up to 25.8 million dollars.
Leverage and the failure of Qwatio
According to data from blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, Qwatio once suffered a loss of 16.28 million USDC and then decided to deposit an additional 10 million USDC into Hyperliquid to increase leverage for his Short positions. However, betting on the market's downward trend while Bitcoin's price was continuously rising led to serious consequences. In just three short hours, all of his Short positions worth 334 million dollars were liquidated, resulting in a massive loss.
Specifically, the liquidated positions include 1,743 BTC worth approximately 211 million dollars, 33,743 ETH worth 102.3 million dollars, and several other coins like FARTCOIN worth 20.6 million dollars. Qwatio's wallet, with the address 0x916E, currently records total losses of up to 25.8 million dollars, nearly wiping out the 26 million dollars profit he had previously made. This story reminds many of James Wynn, another high-leverage trader who suffered losses of millions of dollars and decided to distance himself from the cryptocurrency world.
Valuable lessons
Although leverage strategies can yield enormous profits when the market moves in the right direction, they also carry unpredictable risks. Trading with leverage in a rising market can quickly turn into a disaster, as in the case of Qwatio. Especially in a highly volatile cryptocurrency market, these strategies are even more likely to lead to failure.
The story of trader Aguila Trades brings a completely opposite signal. After suffering a loss of up to 35 million dollars, Aguila persevered in applying the HODLing strategy and eventually earned 2.3 million dollars in profit from his position. This shows that in some situations, patience and holding firm can yield surprising results, rather than continuously 'surfing' or using high leverage.
HODLing: The strategy that put Satoshi Nakamoto on the list of the world's richest people
While some traders accept high risks, another strategy has proven effective over the long term: HODLing – holding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for the long term without selling, despite market fluctuations. One of the typical examples is Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous founder of Bitcoin. With an estimated Bitcoin worth up to 133 billion dollars, Nakamoto is currently ranked as the 11th richest person in the world.
According to a report from The Kobeissi Letter, if the price of Bitcoin reaches 370,000 dollars, Nakamoto's asset value will surpass even Elon Musk's, making him the richest person in the world. This once again affirms Bitcoin's long-term potential and raises the question of whether the patient strategy of HODLers truly offers superior benefits compared to high-risk leverage strategies.
The current situation in the cryptocurrency market shows a stark contrast. While patient individuals like Satoshi Nakamoto are enjoying tremendous gains from Bitcoin's growth, risk-taking traders like Qwatio are facing massive losses. This market is truly not for those lacking patience and a clear strategy.
The debate over whether leverage or HODLing will be the optimal strategy in the long term remains an unanswered question. However, one thing is certain: the crypto market is not short of lessons, and every trader, whether a whale or a beginner, must carefully consider before making their decisions.