Trader who made $49 million shorting crypto lost $24 million on ether in 12 seconds
A prominent crypto trader lost $24 million in 12 seconds after a massive short position on ether was liquidated during a sudden market rally. The event was part of a broader $2.7 billion wave of forced short closures as bitcoin and ether prices surged.
Why it matters
The incident illustrates the extreme volatility and risks inherent in leveraged cryptocurrency trading, particularly during rapid market shifts triggered by macroeconomic news.
The position was 50,000 ETH, worth about $106 million at the price it was unwound. Hyperliquid's records show the liquidation ran from 04:51:03 to 04:51:15, in five separate forced sales . First 9,989 ETH at $2,193, then 20,698 at $2,209, then 15,830 at $2,214, then 1,871 at $2,236.
By the end there were no buyers left for the last 1,417 ETH, so Hyperliquid absorbed it into a fund it keeps for exactly that purpose.
Ether rose $43 over those 12 seconds. The trader's own forced buying was part of what moved it, and every dollar it climbed made the remaining chunks more expensive to close.
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