Many a cryptocurrency trader spotted the opportunities presented by new or struggling digital assets, thus turning modest sums of money into veritable fortunes within mere days and, sometimes, hours throughout 2024.
In the small hours of February 7, 2025, one such investor saw and took an opportunity to bet on a new token – Berachain (BERA) – collapsing in value soon after its launch, thus reversing a common theme of many traders being left ‘holding the bag’ after the often brief and violent post-listing rally.
Specifically, the short trader used approximately 1.6 million USDC stablecoin to bet against BERA on the decentralized platform Hyperliquid to bet against the cryptocurrency.
They took a short position once Berachain was changing hands at about $13 and was able to cash out just two hours later, exiting the trade with approximately 2.19 million USDC, thus making a $589,000 profit – a 36.87% return on investment within just two hours.
Why did the BERA short succeed
The short trade was made possible by a common occurrence in the cryptocurrency market in which a new coin or token experiences a strong rally soon after getting listed only to enter a violent correction, which sometimes leads it on a journey towards $0 and sometimes is but a prelude to future, even greater rallies.
Berachain, as seen on Finbold’s 24-hour chart, went full circle since getting listed. The token first managed an impressive climb from approximately $7.85 to highs at about $14.85 – an 89.17% increase within just over one hour.
Despite the apparent positive momentum, BERA’s drop took only slightly longer as it found itself at lows near $6.96 – 53.13% below the high – just six hours later.
Still, the token may evade the fate of other recently-launched cryptocurrencies such as Official Trump (TRUMP) and the Official Melania meme (MELANIA) as it has stabilized since and is changing hands at $7.60 – 48.82% below the recent highs, but also 9.2% above the lows.
Featured image via Shutterstock
