- The whale deposited $5.9M USDC into Hyperliquid on the 1st of March, preparing for high-risk leveraged positions.
- Trump announced BTC and ETH’s inclusion in the Crypto Reserve just 35 minutes after the whale’s ETH trade.
A cryptocurrency trader has sparked speculation of insider trading after executing a highly leveraged trade just hours before former U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the inclusion of Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH] in the U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve.
The trader entered massive long positions on BTC and ETH with 50x leverage, and within a day, they secured over $6.8 million in profit.
The precision of the trade’s timing—aligning perfectly with Trump’s statement—has raised concerns within the crypto community about whether the trader had advance knowledge of the policy announcement.
The whale’s perfectly timed bet
On the 1st of March, the whale deposited $5.9 million USDC into Hyperliquid to prepare for leveraged trades.
Source: Hyperliquid Explorer
They opened Bitcoin long positions at $85,908 and Ethereum long positions at $2,197 with 50x leverage.
On 2nd of March, the trader placed their first Ethereum long position at 2:49 PM UTC. 35 minutes later, Trump announced Bitcoin and Ethereum’s inclusion in the U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve.
The announcement triggered a market rally that pushed Bitcoin past $94,000 and Ethereum significantly higher.
The trader capitalized on this rally by closing Bitcoin positions between $87,332 and $91,399 for substantial profits.
By the 3rd of March, most of the whale’s positions were closed, resulting in realized profits exceeding $6.8 million.
Source: HyperDash
The trader’s unrealized PnL spiked to $3.3 million on 2nd of March at 7:39 AM UTC and peaked at $8.05 million on 3rd of March at 1:20 AM UTC.
Afterward, unrealized PnL stabilized between $36K and $44K as positions were closed. The account’s total position value remained steady around $740K throughout this period.
Source: HyperDash
The broader crypto market added over $300 billion in market cap within hours of the announcement.
Was it insider trading? Crypto community reacts
The near-perfect execution of this trade has led many to question whether the trader had access to privileged information. Analysts at The Kobeissi Letter pointed out the suspicious timing in a widely shared post:
“This is unusual. 24 hours ago, someone took $200,000,000 worth of Ethereum and Bitcoin longs on 50x leverage. This meant even a 2% drop in Bitcoin would liquidate $200M. Today, President Trump announced the U.S. Crypto Reserve including BTC and ETH. Did someone know?”
Veteran trader Tyrion Trades acknowledged the concerns but suggested blockchain transparency is making insider trading harder to conceal,
Source: X
Crypto market soars $300B on Trump’s announcement
This isn’t the first time Trump has influenced cryptocurrency markets. His earlier comments about digital assets were largely critical during his presidency.
However, his recent pivot toward supporting an America-first crypto reserve marks a significant shift in tone.
Eric Trump also fueled speculation days before the announcement when he posted “Buy the dips,” referring to recent crypto market declines. This cryptic message now appears prescient given subsequent market movements.
Market integrity at a crossroads?
The whale’s well-timed trade has reignited discussions about insider trading in crypto.
The blockchain ensures all transactions are publicly traceable, but real-time access to market-moving information still gives select traders an unfair advantage.
The situation surrounding the suspicious Bitcoin trade and Trump’s statement raises critical questions, particularly regarding the possibility of the trader having prior knowledge of the statement.
