Ethereum Whale Opens Nearly $20 Million ETH Short
The Ethereum whale drew market attention after profiting from a short position during the October 2025 cryptocurrency market crash. A large investor’s use of high leverage to build a short position may signal a more bearish near-term price outlook, though 20-times leverage also brings a heightened risk of liquidation if prices rebound.
Returning to the market after eight months of inactivity, the whale opened a $19.72 million short position in ETH with 20-times leverage as Ether fell to the $1,500 support zone. The position is estimated to generate a profit of about $2.39 million if the price declines further to the whale’s target of $1,375.
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The history behind this eventEight-Year Ether Whale Cuts Holdings, Cashes Out $27.25 Million
On-chain activity by early Ether holders is often viewed as a gauge of long-term investor confidence and potential selling pressure. The address had held ETH for eight years before sharply reducing its position as the price approached the $1,500 level, drawing market attention. It nevertheless retained more than half of its original holdings and did not exit entirely.
On July 20, 2026, the whale sold 17,598 ETH within one hour for 27.245 million USDS at an average price of about $1,548. The sale represented about 46.8% of the original position. Several old wallets moved a combined 37,806 ETH over the same period, indicating that long-term holders were adjusting their positions.
Ethereum Whale Opens $100 Million Short as Vitalik Buterin Vows to Sell Less ETH
The Ethereum Foundation relies on ETH sales to fund its operations, and its frequent transactions have drawn close market scrutiny because they could create selling pressure. The foundation has sold about 20,000 ETH and raised more than $45 million so far in 2026, prompting co-founder Vitalik Buterin to pledge to cut spending and sell less ETH.
As of May 25, 2026, the wallet “0x50b…” held a 47,600 ETH short position with a notional value of about $100.72 million, using roughly 23 times cross margin leverage. The position was opened at $2,094.92. After ETH recovered to about $2,115, its unrealized loss approached $994,000, with the price only about 1.7% below the $2,150 liquidation level.
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