A longtime Bitcoin holder sold his entire position this week to rotate into nearly $300 million worth of Ether.
The hodler sold 550 Bitcoin (BTC) worth approximately $62 million after holding the asset for seven years.
After selling all their Bitcoin through the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, they opened a $282 million long position on Ether (ETH) through three separate accounts, according to a pseudonymous onchain analyst MLM.
“Either he caught some crazy bullish insider news, or he’s just gambling. The execution looked sloppy and rushed,” said the onchain sleuth in a Wednesday X post.
Wallet “0x2ea.” Source: Hypurrscan
Large moves are often tracked by traders to gauge short-term market trends.
The hodler’s rotation came shortly after Bitcoin dipped near a two-week low of $112,000 on Wednesday, signaling “rising nerves in the market” ahead of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming remarks and the Jackson Hole symposium Friday, which may provide key signals on September’s interest rate policy, Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget exchange, told Cointelegraph.
Related: David Bailey’s KindlyMD kicks off Bitcoin treasury with massive $679M buy
Hyperliquid Bitcoin price dips 200bps after $60 million BTC sell
While the Bitcoin hodler’s $60 million sale was modest compared to other large transactions, it was enough to trigger a price dislocation on Hyperliquid.
The $60 million sale caused Bitcoin’s price to fall by 200 basis points (bps) on the Hyperliquid exchange, with Bitcoin “now trading at a 30 bps discount compared to other exchanges,” added MLM in a Wednesday X post.
A 200 bps price drop equals a 2% price difference or approximately $2,267 per Bitcoin, assuming today’s spot price of $113,370, signaling a significant difference compared to other exchanges.
Source: MLM
The move may suggest Hyperliquid’s order books lack the depth to absorb outsized trades without significant price impact.
Cointelegraph has approached Hyperliquid for comment on the exchange’s liquidity conditions.
Related: Ether trader nearly wiped out after epic run from $125K to $43M
Hyperliquid reached a new monthly high of $319 billion in trading volume in July, pushing decentralized finance perpetual futures platforms to a new cumulative high of $487 billion, Cointelegraph reported on Aug. 7.
Hyperliquid earned 35% of all blockchain revenue in July, capturing significant value at the expense of Solana, Ethereum and BNB Chain, VanEck researchers said in a monthly crypto recap report.
Top derivative exchanges by open interest. Source: CoinGecko
Hyperliquid has grown to become the sixth-largest derivatives exchange in the world, with over $12 billion of 24-hour open interest, up from 12th place since the beginning of April, CoinGecko data shows.
Hyperliquid gained popularity in April 2024 after launching spot trading with an aggressive listing strategy and an easy-to-navigate user interface.
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