After President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement triggered a market-wide crash and subsequent rebound, whale activity surged in the crypto market as large investors moved quickly.
Investors made heavily leveraged bets to take advantage of volatility. While some people secured profits, others lost millions of dollars. Many whales also took advantage of the situation to adjust their spot positions and entered and exited the market amid the turbulence. The surge in activity highlights the high risk appetite and quick reactions driving today’s markets.
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Inside crypto whale trading after President Trump’s tariffs market collapse
BeInCrypto previously reported that President Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on China wiped billions of dollars from the market on Friday. However, the president’s subsequent comments allayed tariff concerns, and by Sunday, prices had begun to recover.
Amid this recovery, derivatives trading surged. Several whales have adjusted their positions to take advantage of the changing market.
According to on-chain data shared by Lookonchain, an advisor from World Liberty Financial deposited 1 million USDC into Hyperliquid. The trader opened a 20x long position with 125.7 Bitcoin worth approximately $14.3 million.
Following the market rally, the same trader opened another position. This is 3x long 850,000 ASTER, worth about $1.25 million.
“Unfortunately, @worldlibertyfi advisor Mr. Ogle was not spared from the crash either. His previous wallet completely disappeared, losing over $2.47 million! He then switched to another wallet and was long BTC 5 hours before the rebound,” Lookomchain added.
Meanwhile, another major Bitcoin whale closed 90% of its Bitcoin short interest and completely eliminated its Ethereum (ETH) short interest, making an estimated profit of $190 million to $200 million in one day. Shortly thereafter, he reshorted 1,423 BTC worth approximately $161 million. According to Hypurrscan data, the trader currently has over $3 million in unrealized gains on this position.
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Traders of wallet 0xb9fe experienced the other side of volatility. During the sale, he was completely liquidated and lost about $2 million.
However, just a few hours later, he returned with 9.5 million USDC and opened a 25x long position at 18,960 ETH, worth about $72.7 million.
“ETH just recovered above $4,000! Whale 0xb9fe’s bet paid off. He not only recouped his losses from the crash, but now has a profit of $3.6 million!” Lookunchain is highlighted.
On-chain analysts highlighted two more notable traders who also made moves during the rebound. Address 0x728 built a long position in ETH and Solana (SOL), resulting in a floating profit of approximately $1.56 million, which is still open as of this writing.
Previously, the same wallet lost $4.74 million on a failed ETH long. Additionally, trader 0xe9d took profits more cautiously, closing his long BTC overnight at $265,000.
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Elsewhere, wallet 0x5D2F, which had been short BTC for nearly five months, finally found relief during the crash, turning $27 million in losses into short-term gains. However, as prices recovered, the position returned to the red and is now down by approximately $4.8 million.
Besides Bitcoin and Ethereum, a wallet linked to 1kx Network founding partner Christopher Heymann has also re-entered the market. This address deposited $2 million USDC into Hyperliquid and resumed a long 10x leverage on ENA. Previously, $4.22 million was deposited into the same wallet, but it was liquidated during the recession.
How Crypto Whales coped with the drop in BTC and ETH
While derivatives trading was in the spotlight, spot market activity was also high. On Sunday, on-chain analysts revealed that whale or institutional wallet 0x395 had transferred 15,010 ETH (equivalent to approximately $57.31 million) to the exchange. If these funds are liquidated, holders are expected to secure a profit of approximately $11.87 million.
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Furthermore, Lookonchain pointed out that during the crash, a group of hackers reportedly panic-sold 8,638 ETH worth $32.5 million for $3,764, resulting in a loss of approximately $5.5 million. After the market recovered, they bought back 7,816 ETH (again worth about $32.5 million), but this time at a high price of $4,159, making it a costly case of selling low and buying high.
The market crash also woke up the long-dormant Bitcoin whales. The so-called “Bitcoin OG” deposited 300 BTC worth $33.47 million onto Binance.
According to historical data, he withdrew 749 BTC worth just $8,151 from Mt. Gox 13 years ago. He transferred 159 BTC to a new wallet last year, but had previously refrained from selling it, making this his first Bitcoin sale in history.
While some investors took profits, others, including large corporate holders of Bitcoin, also bought on the spurt.
Overall, the weekend’s volatility revealed sharp disagreements among major players, with some whales locking in profits while others rushed to re-accumulate.
