Whale strategies have changed: what does the $66 million position reveal about the crypto and stock shorting combo?

In the past couple of days, an interesting phenomenon has emerged on the blockchain: a whale is no longer solely engaging in cryptocurrency trades but is simultaneously establishing short positions in both crypto and stocks on-chain. According to the latest reports, this whale starting with ### has recently opened 18 stock short positions, adding to its existing crypto short positions, with a total holdings exceeding $66 million. This not only reflects new strategies among individual investors but also exposes some deeper market logic.

Cross-Asset Short Positions: From Pure Crypto to Versatile Trader

The whale’s holdings structure is quite intriguing. It isn’t simply betting in one domain but has built a multi-layered short system.

Crypto Portion: Aggressive Leverage Shorts

The whale’s main short positions remain in the crypto sector. Monitoring data shows it holds ETH, BTC, and SOL shorts with 20x leverage, totaling approximately $45.64 million, with an unrealized profit of about $1.3 million. This indicates a bet that these mainstream coins will continue to decline. A 20x leverage itself signals a high risk appetite — this isn’t a conservative hedge but an aggressive directional bet.

Stock Portion: 18 Newly Opened Short Positions

The latest development is that the whale has begun establishing stock shorts on-chain. These 18 positions are mainly concentrated in several popular tickers:

The choice of these stocks is quite characteristic. TSLA and MSTR are closely related to tech and crypto sectors, while PLTR is a representative in data analytics. The whale seems to be using stock shorts to hedge against risks in the tech sector or perhaps judging these assets to have downside potential.

Why Short Both Crypto and Stocks Simultaneously?

This question warrants deep thought. From other whales’ activities in the market, it’s clear that there is a pronounced divergence between bullish and bearish sentiments. Some whales are bullish on BTC up to $93,300 but are forced to close positions to cut losses, while others continue to add to their short positions. The whale’s cross-asset short strategy may reflect several considerations:

Diversification and Hedging Logic

Shorting mainstream coins in crypto while shorting tech stocks in equities isn’t necessarily correlated. If crypto and stock markets move inversely, the whale can balance risks through gains in one market offsetting losses in the other. But a more likely scenario is that it perceives downside in both markets and is engaging in “double shorting.”

Maturity of On-Chain Derivatives Ecosystem

The fact that this whale can trade both crypto and stocks on-chain indicates that the on-chain derivatives ecosystem has become sufficiently mature. Platforms like Hyperliquid support not only crypto contracts but also trading of stock-like assets. This ecosystem expansion means that large capital is now able to operate across a broader range of assets.

Aggressive Risk Appetite

Using 20x leverage combined with multiple short positions, this whale is clearly taking high-risk actions. With an unrealized profit of $1.3 million, the current strategy appears effective, but market reversals could lead to rapid losses. Such aggressive positioning often signals strong short-term directional views among market participants.

Market Signals and Risk Warnings

Based on other whales’ activities, we see a complex market landscape: some are closing positions to cut losses, while others are increasing short positions. The “Shanzhai Short Army Leader” has expanded its short holdings by over $25 million in the past two months, with cumulative profits exceeding $80 million, indicating that short strategies have been effective recently.

However, overly concentrated short positions also pose risks. If the market suddenly rebounds, these whales could be forced to cover, potentially pushing prices higher.

Summary

This $66 million cross-asset short position held by the whale reflects several key features of the current market: first, the on-chain derivatives ecosystem has matured enough to support large-scale, complex multi-asset strategies; second, market participants’ views on short-term direction are highly divided—some are closing to cut losses, others are adding to shorts; third, an aggressive risk appetite is driving large capital operations. These signals merit ongoing attention, as they often foreshadow potential market turning points.