The crypto market experienced a surge of activity from large investors following Donald Trump's announcement of a new round of tariff wars. The American president's move triggered a crash, followed by a market rebound.
Investors actively used borrowed funds to profit from volatility. Some made a profit, while others lost millions. Many big players took advantage of the situation to change their positions amid turbulence.
Crypto whale transactions
BeInCrypto previously reported that Trump's announcement of 100% tariffs for China on Friday wiped billions off the market. However, by Sunday, prices began to recover as subsequent statements from the president indicated that the U.S. intended to move towards easing pressure in negotiations.
Against the backdrop of the market rebound, trading volumes in the derivatives market surged sharply. Several large investors adjusted their positions to take advantage of opportunities in the rapidly changing market.
According to on-chain analysts Lookonchain, the advisor of World Liberty Financial deposited 1 million USDC into Hyperliquid. The trader opened a long position with a 20x leverage on 125.7 bitcoins, valued at around $14.3 million. After the market rebound, the same trader opened another position — a long one with a 3x leverage on 850,000 ASTER, worth approximately $1.25 million.
"Unfortunately, the advisor @worldlibertyfi also suffered — his previous wallet was zeroed out, and he lost over $2.47 million! Then he switched to another wallet and opened a long position on BTC five hours before the rebound," Lookonchain added in their message.
Meanwhile, another major bitcoin whale closed 90% of its short position in bitcoin and fully exited its short position in Ethereum ETHUSD, earning around $190–$200 million in one day. Shortly after, he reopened a short position on 1,423 BTC, valued at approximately $161 million. Data from Hypurrscan showed that the trader currently holds an unrealized profit of over $3 million on this position.
The trader with wallet 0xb9fe tested the other side of volatility. During the sell-off, his positions were completely liquidated. He lost about $2 million.
However, just a few hours later, he returned with 9.5 million USDC and opened a long position with a 25x leverage on 18,960 ETH, worth around $72.7 million.
"ETH just recovered above $4,000! The whale's bet 0xb9fe paid off — he not only recouped his losses from the drop but is now up $3.6 million!" Lookonchain noted in their message.
Analysts noticed two more active traders who made trades during the recovery. The address 0x728 opened long positions in ETH and Solana SOLUSD, realizing an unrealized profit of about $1.56 million. Previously, this same wallet lost $4.74 million on an unsuccessful long position in ETH.
Trader 0xe9d acted more cautiously, closing a long position in BTC with a profit of $265,000 overnight.
In another case, the wallet 0x5D2F, which held a losing short position in BTC for almost five months, finally turned a loss of $27 million into a brief profit. However, when prices recovered, the position went negative again, now with a loss of about $4.8 million.
The wallet associated with Christopher Heymann, founder of 1kx Network, has also returned to the market. The address deposited $2 million USDC into Hyperliquid and opened a long position with a 10x leverage on ENA. Previously, this wallet deposited $4.22 million but was liquidated during the downturn.
How crypto whales played the drop of BTC and ETH
Activity in the spot market was also high. On Sunday, an on-chain data analyst reported that whale or institutional wallet 0x395 transferred 15,010 ETH worth about $57.31 million to exchanges. If these funds are sold, the holder could realize a profit of about $11.87 million.
Additionally, Lookonchain noted that during the market drop, a group of hackers panicked and sold 8,638 ETH worth $32.5 million at a price of $3,764, incurring losses of about $5.5 million. After the market recovered, they repurchased 7,816 ETH for approximately $32.5 million, but at a higher price of $4,159.
The market crash also awakened a long-dormant bitcoin whale. The market participant sent 300 BTC worth $33.47 million to Binance. Historical data shows that he withdrew 749 BTC worth only $8,151 from Mt. Gox 13 years ago. Last year he transferred 159 BTC to a new wallet but has not sold them until now.
While some were taking profits, others were buying the dip, including major corporate bitcoin holders.
Overall, the weekend volatility revealed a sharp divide among major players — some whales were taking profits while others rushed to accumulate assets again.
