Ethereum News Today: Leveraged Bets Backfire: $19M Whale Loss Exposes Crypto Market's Fragility

A whale holding long positions in Ethereum (ETH) and XRP has suffered a paper loss of $19 million, according to on-chain analyst Yu Jin according to on-chain analyst Yu Jin. The whale's leveraged bets-$183 million in ETH with 15x leverage and $93.41 million in XRP with 10x leverage- highlight the growing fragility in a crypto market reeling from a $1.1 billion in liquidations in the past 24 hours. The broader sell-off, driven by outflows from spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs and a bearish shift in retail sentiment, has pushed Bitcoin below $90,000 and left the global crypto market cap at $3.08 trillion, down from a peak of $4.24 trillion in October.

The collapse in prices has disproportionately affected leveraged positions. Long positions accounted for $978 million of the liquidations, with Bitcoin and Ethereum leading the carnage as their prices slumped to multi-month lows. Ethereum, for instance, fell 9% to $3,187, while XRP dropped over 5% to $2.13, despite the token's 365-day outperformance against Bitcoin. The sell-off has also triggered a cascade of outflows from ETFs, with Bitcoin spot ETFs recording $896 million in outflows and Ethereum ETFs shedding $259 million in the same period.

XRP's performance has been a rare bright spot in an otherwise bleak market. The token has gained 89% over the past year, outpacing Bitcoin's 3.6% gain, despite a 36% drop from its peak. This resilience is attributed to regulatory clarity following the resolution of the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple and the launch of the first U.S. spot XRP ETF by Canary Capital, which attracted $268 million in inflows within three days.

. However, the ETF's success has not translated to immediate price stability. Whale selling of 200 million XRP in the 48 hours post-launch offset institutional demand, pushing the token into an 11% decline.

The market's bearish momentum is compounded by macroeconomic uncertainty. The Federal Reserve's potential pause on rate cuts has dampened risk-on sentiment, with the CME FedWatch tool showing a near-even split between a 25-basis-point cut and a pause in December. Meanwhile, long-term holders of Ethereum and Bitcoin have increased selling activity, with daily outflows from 3- to 10-year ETH holders hitting 45,000 tokens-a level not seen since 2021.

Technical indicators suggest further downward pressure on XRP. The token trades below key moving averages and faces critical support levels at $2.07 and $1.90. While the RSI hints at early stability, the MACD remains bearish, signaling continued risk-off behavior. Analysts caution that the market's structural fragility-41.5% of XRP's supply currently in a loss- could prolong the downturn despite ETF inflows.

As the crypto market grapples with its worst correction since 2022, the focus shifts to whether institutional demand can outweigh whale-driven volatility. For now, the $19 million paper loss suffered by the ETH/XRP whale serves as a stark reminder of the risks inherent in leveraged positions during a bear market.