From a profit of 96.67 million to a loss of 3.8 million, what does this whale's BTC contract stop-loss tell us?

A whale who once made a fortune trading ETH on the Ethereum swings has now taken a hit in Bitcoin futures. According to the latest news, this whale(0xfb7…e0a3) closed out a 3,846 BTC long position, incurring a loss of $38 million. From spot trading to futures, from profit to loss, this rapid shift is quite intriguing.

The “Car Crash” Process of the Whale

Short-term aggressive expansion in just two days

The story begins two days ago. According to on-chain analyst Yu Yan’s monitoring, this whale previously accumulated $96.67 million in profit through multiple ETH swing trades. After tasting success, it decided to switch to the futures market.

Starting January 6th, this whale began transferring funds to Hyperliquid(, a decentralized derivatives trading platform). In just over a day, it transferred a total of 35.5 million USDC and started going long BTC with 20x leverage. By 2 a.m. on January 7th, its BTC long position had expanded to 3,846 coins, with an opening average price of $92,096, and a total position value of $350 million.

This move was very aggressive—using $35.5 million of capital to leverage $350 million in positions with 20x leverage shows the whale’s strong confidence in a BTC rally.

Price correction triggers stop-loss

However, the market did not move as the whale expected. Data shows BTC fell 2.09% in the past 24 hours. While this may seem small, for a 20x leveraged position, it’s enough to cause significant losses.

In the early hours today, the whale closed all 3,846 BTC at an average price of $91,158, which is $938 lower than the opening price. The final result: a loss of $38 million.

Full withdrawal of funds

Interestingly, after closing the position, the whale did not add more but chose a conservative approach. It withdrew the remaining 31.7 million USDC from Hyperliquid back to its on-chain wallet, effectively stopping the loss and exiting the market.

The logic behind this stop-loss

Risk management awareness

From the outcome, the whale’s stop-loss decision was timely. Although it lost $38 million, in a high-risk environment with 20x leverage, this loss is manageable. Continuing to hold could have led to liquidation if BTC further declined.

The whale’s ability to grow from $96.67 million in spot profits to today’s position clearly isn’t luck but the result of a mature risk management system. Stop-loss is a crucial part of this system.

The brutal reality of futures trading

This experience also reflects a reality: profits in spot trading do not necessarily translate directly into success in futures trading.

In the spot market, whales have ample time to wait for a market reversal and are not afraid of being caught in a position. But in a 20x leveraged futures market, time becomes an enemy—every price fluctuation directly impacts account equity, and a small misstep can lead to liquidation.

Current state of the BTC market

Data shows BTC is currently around $91,126. Although it has risen 4.03% over the past 7 days, short-term volatility exists. The whale’s stop-loss point coincides with this fluctuation zone, indicating its market judgment might be: a short-term top and a need for a correction.

Possible future directions

The whale has completely exited this position and moved funds back on-chain. This could mean:

• It is unlikely to aggressively participate in BTC futures in the short term
• The 31.7 million USDC might be allocated to other investment opportunities
• This loss may prompt it to reassess the risk-reward ratio of futures trading

Summary

This whale’s story is quite representative. It proves a principle: even if you’ve made big money in one field, you need to be cautious when switching to a new one. The $96.67 million ETH swing profit looks substantial, but in the face of high leverage in futures markets, it can be wiped out in an instant.

More importantly, this stop-loss demonstrates the qualities of a true professional trader—not the one who earns the most, but the one who survives the longest. Although a $38 million loss is significant, for an institution managing hundreds of millions of dollars, timely stop-loss shows clear-headedness.

For ordinary traders, the lesson is straightforward: high leverage can amplify gains but also risks. Even experienced whales must pay the price for aggressive leverage operations.