Start now →

A single crypto trader is sitting on a $194 million bet that bitcoin and ether will keep climbing

By Oliver Knight · Published March 10, 2026 · 5 min read · Source: CoinDesk
BitcoinEthereum
MarketsShare this articleX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmail

A single crypto trader is sitting on a $194 million bet that bitcoin and ether will keep climbing

Whales on Hyperliquid are piling into leveraged bitcoin and ether longs as BTC rallies to $71K, fueling bets the cryptocurrency will break above $75,000.

By Oliver Knight Mar 10, 2026, 11:37 a.m. GoogleMake us preferred on Google
Whale (Unsplash+)
Crypto whales bet on breakout (Getty Images/Unsplash+)

What to know:

Crypto traders on the perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid are placing increasingly aggressive leveraged bets that bitcoin will break above $75,000 after a sharp rally at the start of the week.

Bitcoin climbed to around $71,000 on Tuesday, up from roughly $65,000 when BTC futures opened on Sunday evening. The move has reignited calls for a retest of recent highs after being rejected near $74,000 last week.

Onchain data shows several large traders — often referred to as “whales” — opening highly leveraged long positions on Hyperliquid as prices rise.

One trader is holding ether (ETH) and bitcoin BTC$70,816.15 long positions worth $194 million with unrealized profit and loss standing at around $6.5 million. Another account has $103 million worth of long positions across a multitude of trading pairs, betting on a broader crypto breakout as opposed to a major-dominated rally.

Positions on Hyperliquid are typically opened with leverage, allowing traders to amplify exposure. One wallet, for example, opened a series of trades using 20x leverage, meaning a $1 million account could control a $20 million bitcoin position. This trader opened 20x leveraged longs on 600 BTC worth about $42.5 million while simultaneously taking a 20x long position on 20,000 ETH valued at roughly $41.2 million.

HyperLiquid positions (Coinmarketman)
HyperLiquid positions (Coinmarketman)

The whale also appears to be accumulating ether in spot markets. Data shows the address spent $21 million in USDC to purchase 10,158 ETH at an average price of $2,067 shortly before opening the derivatives positions.

Other nine-figure long positions demonstrate one thing: Crypto traders are confident this breakout will stick and won't be a bull trap like last week.

A separate wallet, 0x985f, is taking a different macro stance. The address deposited $9.5 million in USDC into Hyperliquid within a five-hour window before opening 20x leveraged short positions on oil futures, including roughly $8.17 million in crude oil (CL) contracts and $6.15 million in Brent oil.

The same trader also opened short positions across several crypto tokens, including HYPE, PUMP, XPL, APT and ASTER, suggesting a broader bearish stance on select altcoins while large traders concentrate bullish bets on bitcoin and ether.

The positioning highlights how decentralized derivatives platforms such as Hyperliquid have become a hub for large leveraged bets during periods of strong bitcoin momentum.

A break above $75,000 could force short sellers to cover and accelerate the rally, while a move lower would quickly test the conviction of traders piling into nine-figure leveraged longs.

HyperliquidWhaleBitcoin

More For You

Pudgy Penguins: Challenging the Pokemon and Disney Legacy in the Global IP Race

By CoinDesk ResearchFeb 27, 2026  logoCommissioned byPudgy Penguins
basic

CoinDesk Research looks into how Pudgy Penguins disrupts traditional toys market via a phygital model. With 2M+ units sold, they scale via global partnerships and events.

What to know:

View Full Report

More For You

Traders snapped up nearly 600,000 BTC as bitcoin dipped below $70,000, blockchain data show

By James Van Straten|Edited by Omkar Godbole26 minutes ago
URPD (Glassnode)

Glassnode data shows strong demand during bitcoin’s recent correction, with 200,00 BTC purchased over the past two weeks.

What to know:

Read full storyLatest Crypto News A U.S. fighter jet comes in to touch down on an aircraft carrier

Stablecoin market expands, bitcoin rallies as Iran war panic cools

26 minutes ago
URPD (Glassnode)

Traders snapped up nearly 600,000 BTC as bitcoin dipped below $70,000, blockchain data show

26 minutes ago
(Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks at CES 2026 in Las Vegas/Nvidia)

Nvidia's Huang argues AI creates jobs, not destroys them, in rare official blog post

28 minutes ago
Digital screens, business & work. (Joshua Aragon/Pixabay)

Hyperliquid's next upgrade to let seasoned traders take bigger bets with less capital

46 minutes ago
Donald Trump (Credit: Library of Congress on Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)

Bitcoin climbs to $71,000 as dollar, oil weaken after Trump comments on Iran war

1 hour ago
Strategy CEO Michael Saylor

Strategy logs record STRC equity issuance on Monday, buys estimated 1,420 bitcoin

1 hour ago
Top StoriesBuddha point, Thimphu, Bhutan (Passang Tobgay/Unsplash)

Bhutan sells $42.5 million of bitcoin in 2026 as national stack drops 58% from peak

6 hours ago
Image of several Pudgy Penguin NFTs (Pudgy Penguins)

Pudgy Penguins launches its 'Club Penguin' moment, and the game doesn't feel like crypto at all

5 hours ago
Tom Lee

Ether treasury firm Bitmine moves $19.5 million in ETH to Coinbase Prime

4 hours ago

In this article

BTCBTCBTC$70,816.154.76%
This article was originally published on CoinDesk and is republished here under RSS syndication for informational purposes. All rights and intellectual property remain with the original author. If you are the author and wish to have this article removed, please contact us at [email protected].

NexaPay — Accept Card Payments, Receive Crypto

No KYC · Instant Settlement · Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay

Get Started →