Ethereum News Today: Whale Selloffs and Leveraged Bets Clash: $32M Crypto Losses as Market Volatility Intensifies

CZ's Short Squeeze: Whale Longs Face Nearly $32 Million Loss, Ethereum Long Liquidation Price at $2,528

The cryptocurrency market is grappling with a volatile short squeeze as whale activity and leveraged positions amplify pressure on XRP and Ethereum. XRP whales offloaded 200 million tokens in 48 hours, exacerbating downward momentum. Meanwhile, a massive 20x short position on XRP-worth $27.4 million- has been opened by a trader linked to Roobet and Stake, signaling heightened bearish sentiment. These developments come as Ethereum faces its own turbulence, with treasury firms like FG Nexus selling nearly 11,000 ETH to fund share buybacks, pushing the liquidation price for long positions to $2,528.

XRP's decline underscores structural fragility in its market structure. Despite a 4× price increase to $2.15 since November 2024, 41.5% of its supply remains in loss, with whale dominance skewed toward late buyers. The recent ETF launch, while boosting inflows, has yet to translate into sustained price support, with analysts projecting meaningful institutional impact only by 2026. Compounding this, the massive short position opened by the Roobet-linked trader - $196 million total across Bitcoin, XRP, and Zcash - has intensified selling pressure. This comes as whale transactions surged to a four-month high, with 716 trades exceeding $1 million each.

Ethereum's challenges stem from treasury firms under pressure to align stock prices with net asset values (NAVs). FG Nexus sold 10,922 ETH ($33 million) to repurchase 3.4 million shares at $3.45, below its reported NAV of $3.94 per share. This follows similar moves by ETHZilla and highlights a broader trend of digital asset treasury companies liquidating holdings to prop up stock prices. The ETH price dipped 2% following the announcement, though it partially recovered. Analysts note that such sales could drive Ethereum's long liquidation price lower, currently hovering near $2,528.

The interplay between whale behavior and leveraged positions is creating a feedback loop of volatility. XRP's whale-driven selloff and the massive short position suggest a top-heavy market vulnerable to further declines. For Ethereum, the sell-off by treasury firms reflects systemic strain as stock prices lag the value of underlying crypto assets. The market now faces a critical juncture: if institutional flows fail to materialize for XRP or Ethereum's NAVs continue to erode, the short squeeze could escalate, triggering broader market instability.