The cryptocurrency market saw a surge in whale activity as large investors moved quickly after Donald Trump’s tariff announcement caused a market-wide drop and then a recovery.
Investors have been placing large, leveraged bets to capitalize on the volatility. While some have made profits, others have lost millions. Many whales have also taken advantage of the conditions to adjust their spot positions, entering or exiting the market amid volatility. This surge in activity demonstrates the high risk appetite and quick reactions that are driving today’s markets.
Inside the Crypto Whale Trades After the Trump Tariff Market Crash
BeInCrypto previously reported that Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on China wiped billions of dollars off the market on Friday. However, prices began to recover on Sunday as the president’s subsequent comments eased tariff concerns.
Amid this recovery, Derivative trading has surged. Many whales have adjusted their positions to capture opportunities in the changing market.
According to on-chain data Chia by Lookonchain, an advisor from World Liberty Financial deposited 1 million USDC into Hyperliquid. The trader opened a 20x Longing position on 125.7 Bitcoin, worth about $14.3 million.
Followingthe market recovery , the same trader opened another position — a 3x Longing position on 850,000 ASTER, worth about $1.25 million.
“Unfortunately, advisor @worldlibertyfi ogle did not escape the crash either — his previous wallet was completely wiped out, losing over $2.47 million! He then moved to another wallet and opened a Longing position on BTC 5 hours before the recovery,” Lookonchain added .
Meanwhile, another large Bitcoin whale closed 90% of his Bitcoin Short position and completely exited his Ethereum ( ETH ) Short position, earning an estimated profit of $190–200 million in a single day. Shortly after, he reopened a 1,423 BTC Short position worth about $161 million. Data from Hypurrscan shows that this trader now has an unrealized profit of over $3 million on this position.
The trader behind the 0xb9fe wallet experienced the other side of the volatility. During the sell-off, he was completely liquidated and lost around $2 million.
However, just a few hours later, he returned with 9.5 million USDC and opened a 25x Longing position on 18,960 ETH worth about $72.7 million.
“ETH just bounced above $4,000! Whale 0xb9fe did it — not only did he recover his losses from the crash, but he now has a profit of $3.6 million!” Lookonchain highlighted .
An on-chain analyst pointed out two other notable traders who also made moves during the recovery. Address 0x728 built Longing positions in ETH and Solana (SOL ), with a floating profit of about $1.56 million, still open at the time of writing.
Previously, the same wallet lost $4.74 million in a failed ETH Longing . Furthermore, trader 0xe9d took a more cautious profit-taking approach, closing a BTC Longing position for a $265,000 profit overnight.
Elsewhere, wallet 0x5D2F , which had held a losing BTC Short position for nearly five months, finally saw relief from the crash — turning a $27 million loss into a short-term profit. However, as the price recovered, the position fell back into the red, now down around $4.8 million.
In addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum, a wallet associated with Christopher Heymann, a founding partner at 1kx Network, also re-entered the market. This address deposited 2 million USDC into Hyperliquid and reopened a 10x leveraged Longing position on ENA. The same wallet had previously deposited $4.22 million but was liquidated during the downturn.
How Crypto Whales Take Advantage of the BTC and ETH Price Drop
While Derivative trading has been in the spotlight, spot market activity has also been brisk. On Sunday, an on-chain analyst revealed that a whale or institutional wallet, 0x395, transferred 15,010 ETH —worth about $57.31 million—to exchanges. If these funds were liquidated, the holder would have made a profit of about $11.87 million.
Additionally, Lookonchain noted that during the crash, a group of hackers allegedly panic-sold 8,638 ETH worth $32.5 million at $3,764, incurring a loss of about $5.5 million. After the market recovered, they bought back 7,816 ETH — also worth about $32.5 million — but this time at a higher price of $4,159, an expensive case of buying high after selling low.
The market crash also woke up a long-time Bitcoin whale. The 'Bitcoin OG' deposited 300 BTC worth $33.47 million into Binance.
Historical data shows 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 waited until now to sell, marking his first Bitcoin sale.
While some people took profits, others bought in on the dip , including large companies that hold Bitcoin .
Overall, the weekend volatility revealed a clear Chia among the big players — with some whales taking profits while others rushed to buy back.
