Cryptocurrency markets ended the weekend in the green after falling for most of the week. The total market capitalization increased by 1.1% in the past 24 hours, indicating a gradual recovery.
As prices stabilize, crypto whales have become increasingly active in both derivatives and spot markets, suggesting a strategic repositioning amid recent volatility.
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Whale activity surges as BTC, ETH, ENA market bets diverge
A wave of whale activity has hit the derivatives market. Traders were alternating between defensive shorts and high-leverage longs in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Etena (ENA) to stay ahead of volatility.
Crypto whales who shorted BTC last week have turned bullish, according to on-chain analysts. The whale holds approximately $250 million across BTC and ETH.
The trader’s portfolio includes a 15x long position of 1,610.93 BTC ($173 million) and a 3x long position of 19,894.21 ETH ($77.4 million). Although it previously suffered losses of more than $10 million, its unrealized losses have now shrunk to about $3.1 million.
Meanwhile, some investors have chosen the opposite path. The whale deposited 30 million USDC into Hyperliquid and opened a 10x short position of 700 BTC, worth approximately $75.5 million.
“Entry price $109,133.1, liquidation price $150,082.9, current unrealized profit is $455,000,” an on-chain analyst posted.
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The same investor had previously made $160 million shorting Bitcoin during the October 11 crash.
Adding to the bearish sentiment, a wallet linked to Andrew Kang opened a new $68 million short position containing 10,275 ETH with 25x leverage and 269 BTC with 40x leverage.
Interestingly, despite this bearish trend, Kang maintains a long position in ENA, suggesting selective faith in specific altcoins. His trade reportedly netted him about $5.6 million in profit over the past week.
Other traders also expressed optimism about ENA while maintaining short positions in the two major cryptocurrencies. According to Lookonchain data, the whale identified as 0x579f holds mixed positions worth approximately $70 million, including short positions of 232 BTC ($25 million) and 5810 ETH ($22.7 million), and long positions of 44.79 million ENA ($21.3 million).
Nevertheless, some traders remained bearish on ENA.
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What did Crypto Whales buy and sell after the October crash?
There has also been significant movement in the spot market as major crypto players have repositioned their portfolios, with some players seizing the opportunity to buy on the spurt. Ethereum finance company BitMine has made one of its most notable moves, adding $1.5 billion worth of ETH to its holdings.
This large purchase reveals institutional investors’ renewed confidence in Ethereum’s long-term fundamentals despite recent market turmoil.
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El Salvador has quietly increased its Bitcoin reserves, purchasing an additional 8 Bitcoins in the past week. The Central American country currently holds a total of 6,355.18 BTC. Meanwhile, currency data overall reflects steady accumulation.
Major centralized exchanges recorded net outflows of approximately 21,000 BTC over the past week. Coinbase Pro and Binance led the trend with 15,000 BTC and 12,000 BTC withdrawn respectively.
Activity was not limited to the top two cryptocurrencies. In the Chainlink (LINK) ecosystem, a newly created wallet withdrew 142,428 LINK (worth approximately $2.4 million) from Binance.
“It looks like LINK has accumulated. Within 12 hours, $892,460,000 LINK (about $15 million) has been withdrawn from Binance. Within the last week, $2,310,000 LINK (about $40,760,000) has been withdrawn from Binance,” another analyst reported.
The combination of highly leveraged positioning in derivatives markets and steady accumulation in spot markets highlights a fragmented yet dynamic space. While some whales are betting on further declines, others are quietly building positions, suggesting confidence that the worst of October’s volatility may be behind us.
