A well-known crypto trader, famous for earning $192 million by shorting the recent market crash, is once again betting against Bitcoin — reigniting debate across the crypto community about insider trading and market manipulation.
The trader, identified only by the on-chain address 0xb317, operates on the Hyperliquid decentralized derivatives exchange. Over the weekend, they reportedly opened a new $163 million short position on Bitcoin (BTC), using 10x leverage. As of now, the trade is already up by roughly $3.5 million in unrealized profit but faces liquidation if Bitcoin climbs above $125,500.
Timing Raises Eyebrows
The trader first caught public attention last week when they placed a massive short just 30 minutes before former U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, which triggered a sharp sell-off in crypto markets. That single move earned the trader nearly $192 million, sparking widespread speculation that the player may have had advance knowledge of the event.
On-chain trackers such as Hypurrscan have since reported another round of large short positions from the same address, fueling community theories that this “insider whale” might be influencing price movements. Some analysts have even suggested that the trader’s actions could have triggered a chain reaction of liquidations across the market.
“Imagine what’s happening on centralized exchanges if this is what we’re seeing publicly,” wrote analyst MLM on X (formerly Twitter), hinting that similar trades may exist off-chain.
Crypto Community Split Over Market Integrity
Since Friday’s crash, data platform HyperTracker revealed that more than 250 wallets lost millionaire status on Hyperliquid. Meanwhile, another trader reportedly went long on Bitcoin, opening a 40x leveraged $11 million position, betting on a market rebound.
Critics have used this event to highlight ongoing issues in unregulated crypto markets.
“People are seeing in real time what lack of oversight looks like — insider trades, manipulation, and zero accountability,” commented Janis Kluge, a researcher from SWP Berlin.
Binance Responds to Meltdown Rumors
Some community members pointed fingers at Binance, suggesting that technical issues on the exchange may have worsened the crash. Reports surfaced of failed stop-loss orders, liquidity gaps, and temporary price anomalies where certain tokens appeared to lose all value.
In response, Binance denied any system failure, explaining that what users saw was merely a “display issue.”
“The core futures and spot engines continued operating normally,” the company clarified, assuring that no structural breakdown occurred during the volatility.
To address user losses, Binance said it would compensate around $283 million to traders whose collateralized assets — including USDE, BNSOL, and WBETH — were affected.
Despite the chaos, BNB, Binance’s native token, has rebounded sharply, rising 14% in the past 24 hours to trade above $1,300 once again.
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