Whale loses $250 million in Ethereum long trade, only left with $53

A trader using the pseudonym Hyperunit whale recently faced a significant loss of $250 million after closing a long position on Ethereum. The trader, apparently linked to Garrett Jin, saw his account balance on Hyperliquid dwindle down to just $53 after the failed trade. This loss came amidst a downturn in the market, with Ethereum’s price dropping by about 10% in a single day, landing at $2194.

Analysts had been monitoring the situation closely and noted that the trader’s unrealized loss had surpassed $130 million just a couple of days before the trade was closed. This incident involving the Hyperunit whale traces back to their initial success in October 2025 when they made $192 million from short positions on Bitcoin and Ethereum shortly before an announcement by former U.S. President Donald Trump regarding tariffs on Chinese imports. Despite speculations of insider trading, no evidence to support this claim was found.

Eye, an on-chain analyst, linked the wallet address associated with the Hyperunit whale to Garrett Jin, the former CEO of BitForex. However, Jin denied personal ownership of the assets, stating that he managed client funds. Following this success, the trader shifted gears and began accumulating a substantial long position in Ether, reaching over $730 million by mid-January, with their total market exposure exceeding $900 million.

The recent liquidation event on Hyperliquid involving the Hyperunit whale did not render the trader bankrupt, as they still hold $2.5 billion in assets spread across various wallets. Despite this, Lookonchain’s data on the platform’s top traders paints a grim picture, with all eight traders who made significant profits eventually losing their entire deposits, emphasizing the risks associated with high leverage trading.

This incident serves as a clear example of the potential pitfalls of engaging in high leverage trading. In December 2025, one of the co-founders of Hyperliquid, Iliensinc, addressed and dismissed rumors of insider trading. In light of recent events, it is evident that caution must be exercised when trading with high leverage to avoid catastrophic losses.