Bitcoin News Today: Mystery Trader's Timely Short Yields $160M as Trump Tariffs Send Crypto into Tailspin

A $1.1 billion cryptocurrency short position, opened just one minute before U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, triggered one of the largest liquidation events in crypto history. The move sent shockwaves through global markets, erasing $19.38 billion in leveraged positions within 24 hours and leaving over 1.6 million traders liquidated. The timing of the trade-executed on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid-has sparked speculation about insider knowledge or extraordinary market foresight, as the position yielded over $160 million in profits for a single trader .

The tariff announcement, which Trump framed as a response to China's "hostile" trade practices, caused Bitcoin to plummet 12% in a single day, from over $126,000 to $102,000. Ethereum followed suit, dropping below $4,000 for the first time in months. The largest single liquidation event was a $203.36 million ETH-USDT position on Hyperliquid, underscoring the scale of panic-driven exits . Analysts attribute the crash to excessive leverage in a market already primed for volatility. "The tariff news was the ignition," said Ravi Doshi of FalconX, noting that leveraged long positions-bets on rising prices-collapsing under the sudden shift in sentiment created a cascading sell-off .

Amid the chaos, one trader capitalized on the turmoil. Publicly visible on-chain data revealed a whale who shorted Bitcoin and Ethereum just before the tariff announcement. The trader closed all ETH short positions for $72.33 million in profit and retained a $92.84 million BTC short with 5.38x leverage. Total gains exceeded $160 million, with the profits drawn from a market that saw $17 billion in liquidations within four hours . The trader's actions, detailed by on-chain analyst @mlmabc, raised questions about pre-announcement awareness, particularly as the positions were opened minutes before the tariff shockwave hit .

The broader market impact was severe. Total crypto market capitalization fell 9.2% to $3.76 trillion, with Bitcoin's dominance rising to 59.8% as investors fled altcoins. Solana, XRP, and DOGE suffered some of the steepest declines, with DOGE losing 24% of its value. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index plummeted from 64 to 27, its sharpest drop since the 2020 pandemic crash . Meanwhile, exchanges like Binance and Coinbase faced technical strain as traders scrambled to close positions, with Binance's futures insurance fund draining $188 million to stabilize losses .

Regulatory and geopolitical uncertainties loom large. Trump's tariffs, set to take effect on November 1, have intensified fears of a prolonged trade war with China. Analysts warn that the crypto market remains vulnerable until sentiment stabilizes. Brian Strugats of Multicoin Capital described the crash as a "necessary purge" to reset the market, though institutional inflows-such as BlackRock's ETF investments-could provide a floor for recovery . The incident also highlights the growing interplay between macroeconomic policy and crypto markets, with traditional asset classes now influencing digital asset prices in real time .

As the dust settles, the October 10 crash stands as a cautionary tale of leverage and liquidity risk. For now, traders are bracing for further volatility, with Bitcoin hovering near $111,500 and Ethereum trading at $3,808. The question remains: Was the whale's timing a stroke of luck-or a glimpse into the opaque mechanics of high-stakes crypto trading?

Source: [1] Massive $19B Liquidation Hits Crypto Markets After Trump Tariffs (https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/10/11/massive-19b-liquidation-hits-crypto-markets-after-trump-tariffs/)

[2] How One Trader Made $160 Million Shorting Crypto Before ... (https://coincentral.com/how-one-trader-made-160-million-shorting-crypto-before-trumps-china-tariff-bombshell/)

[3] Whale bags $160M by shorting ahead of Trump's China tariff (https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/business/crypto-whale-short-trump-china-tariff)

[4] Hyperliquid Whale Bets Big: Short Positions Triggered Just Before ... (https://www.btcc.com/en-US/square/Blockchainreport/1058309)

[5] Crypto Market Hit by $19B Liquidation, $400B Wipeout (https://coin360.com/news/crypto-market-liquidation-2025-trump-tariffs)

[6] Trump's new 100% tariffs on China triggered a $19 billion crypto ... (https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/11/business/trump-tariffs-crypto-selloff)

[7] Crypto Crash: Bitcoin (BTC) Down 10%, ETH, XRP, SOL in Freefall ... (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/10/10/bitcoin-crashes-below-usd110k-cryptos-in-freefall-on-further-trump-tariff-on-china)

[8] Trump's China tariff sends crypto exchanges into emergency mode (https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/business/trump-china-tariff-crypto-crash-exchange)

[9] Trump's China Tariff Triggers Crypto Crash, But For How Long? (https://beincrypto.com/trump-china-traiff-threat-crypto-market-cr/)

[10] Crypto Plunges After Trump Confirms 100 Percent China Tariff (https://blog.bitunix.com/en/trump-china-tariff-crypto-market-crash/)

[11] Hyperliquid whales are not Keyser Söze - Daily Kos (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/10/11/2348096/-Hyperliquid-whales-are-not-Keyser-S-ze)

[12] Hyperliquid Trader Fumbles $26M ETH Short Profit, ... (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/07/10/hyperliquid-trader-fumbles-26m-eth-short-profit-faces-716k-loss-after-doubling-down)