Bitcoin Whales Lose $100 Million in July Price Drop

Bitcoin’s recent price decline has resulted in significant losses for large investors, commonly referred to as whales. According to data from CryptoQuant, the sharp drop in Bitcoin’s price in early July triggered substantial losses among these large wallets. In just a few days, Bitcoin whale wallets collectively lost over $100 million. Notably, new Bitcoin whale addresses, likely recent entrants, contributed significantly to these realized losses.

The situation is complex when considering the derivatives market. Funding rates, particularly the Open Interest (OI)-weighted metrics, remain unusually flat. Typically, funding rate spikes occur during volatile market conditions, but in this case, despite visible liquidations, funding rates have not reacted significantly. This creates a peculiar scenario where Bitcoin whales are exiting the market, yet traders are not paying a premium to stay long or short, indicating a market frozen in indecision.

Some high-profile wallets have taken massive losses. James Wynn, a crypto trader known for his aggressive leveraged plays, was partially liquidated for 4.59 BTC ($486K) during the July 2 dip. His liquidation price sat just above $105,500, confirming he was caught on the wrong end of a fast move. Moments later, he switched direction, closing his previous position with a $3,015 loss and immediately re-opening a new 40x BTC long. Another trader, known by the address 0xFa5D, closed a long ETH position with a $3.55 million loss. Minutes later, the same wallet re-entered the market with a 10x short on ETH using the entire $15.6 million USDC balance, resulting in a total loss of $6.83 million in 24 hours.

CryptoQuant’s BTC Realized Profit chart shows a steep drop below zero in July, with new whales and those active in the past 30 days spiking into negative territory. This typically signals panic exits rather than profit-booking. Funding rate charts from Coinglass further muddy the waters. BTC’s OI-weighted funding rate hovered around neutral, suggesting neither longs nor shorts were dominating. ETH’s funding chart showed slightly positive rates, but not enough to suggest strong directional conviction. Traders appear cautious, possibly sidelined, despite liquidations piling up.

ETH was not spared from the turmoil. The funding rate on ETH futures showed a small positive tilt, even as prices fell below $2,400. Despite small inflows, conviction remains weak. Liquidation stories are stacking up here, too. Twitter user @qwatio, dubbed “The Gambler,” reportedly lost $30.65 million in BTC and $20.6 million in ETH in a single round, liquidated on both sides of the trade. He has now been liquidated 23 times across both assets. That level of overexposure usually happens when volatility compresses and then suddenly breaks.

Whales aren’t exiting in unison, but enough have left to move the needle. Funding data tells us there’s no clear consensus among derivatives traders. In fact, the market’s muted response might reflect exhaustion more than confidence. The standout here isn’t just the liquidation size, but the behavior. Wallets like 0xFa5D and @JamesWynnReal flipped positions aggressively, sometimes within minutes, amplifying their losses. That reeks of FOMO and emotional trading. Some see this chop as bottom-building. Others say more pain is ahead if funding doesn’t turn.