Major Crypto Whale Faces Heavy Losses as Market Moves Against Positions

Recent on-chain data reveals several large crypto whales are experiencing significant losses as market volatility and leveraged positions move against them. These events highlight how even large holders can be affected by rapid price shifts and risky trading strategies in 2025-26.

Key Whale Loss Events:

Bitcoin Short Whale in the Red: A prominent whale that expanded leveraged short positions across Bitcoin and Ethereum — including 10x BTC and 15x ETH shorts totaling roughly $109 million — is now facing an unrealized loss of over $1.8 million as markets rally.

Short Whale Swings to Loss: Another whale that previously sold 255 BTC and built large leveraged positions across multiple assets has seen profits turn to paper losses exceeding $2.5 million as market moves defy their direction.

Long BTC Position Liquidated: Whale wallet 0xFB78 capitulated on a 3,846 BTC long with a value of about $350.4 million, realizing losses exceeding $3.5 million after market downturn pressure.

Short BTC Loss in a Rally: A major Bitcoin short whale that was positioned against BTC’s rally has incurred rising losses as the market turned bullish — an example of how trend reversals hit leveraged short traders.

Broader Position Losses: Some whales holding large cross-asset long books, including BTC, ETH, SOL and other assets, have suffered millions in funding and unrealized losses due to sideways or adverse price moves.

Why This Matters:

Whale losses often signal volatility stress in crypto markets, especially when trading with high leverage. These moves can trigger cascading effects — from stop-loss liquidations to shifts in sentiment among other large holders and traders. Vogt forward, traders are watching how whales adjust positions, reduce risk, or rotate capital as market conditions evolve.