Market U-Turn Leaves Crypto Gambler $334M Poorer in 3-Hour Crash

A high-stakes crypto trader going by the handle @qwatio on X has suffered one of the most dramatic liquidations in recent memory, losing $334 million in under three hours as Bitcoin (BTC) rocketed to a new all-time high (ATH) on Monday morning.

The sudden uptick caught many short sellers off guard, but none more spectacularly than this whale, whose aggressive, leveraged bets on BTC, Ethereum (ETH), and Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) imploded in real time.

A Gambler’s Downfall

The trader, operating from the wallet address 0x916E and tracked by Lookonchain, had aggressively bet against the market’s upward momentum. According to posts from the analytics platform, his run of bad luck began days earlier when an initial short position backfired, incinerating $16.28 million in USDC.

Undeterred, the gambler returned with a fresh $10 million top-up, seemingly determined to win it all back. He went on to short 1,273 BTC, worth approximately $150 million, at a risky 40x leverage, while also doubling down on 33,743 ETH valued at about $99.8 million using 25x leverage.

This desperate recovery attempt lasted less than 48 hours. At the time, Bitcoin hovered around $119,000 and appeared ripe for a pullback. But instead of a reversal, the market accelerated upward, and @qwatio’s new positions imploded: 458 BTC ($55 million), 12,147 ETH ($36.55 million), and 5.4 million FARTCOIN ($7.33 million) vanished in liquidation flames.

Rather than retreat after being licked twice in quick succession, the punter tripled down, only to get kicked in the teeth one more time. His massive short positions, including 1,743 BTC valued at $211 million, 33,743 ETH worth just north of $102 million, and 15 million FARTCOIN priced at $20.6 million, were washed down the drain, bringing his total losses across the three brutal episodes to $25.84 million.

Whiplash Market Claims Multiple Victims

The trader was not alone in his suffering, with Bitcoin’s 15% weekly surge past $123,000 triggering industry-wide carnage that saw liquidations exceeding $730 million.

However, while the likes of hedge fund Abraxas Capital watched $107 million evaporate from short hedges on Hyperliquid against BTC, ETH, and SOL holdings, the same volatility salvaged others. Pseudonymous trader AguilaTrades miraculously erased a $35 million deficit through a perfectly timed 3,000 BTC long, turning it into a $2.3 million profit as Bitcoin found a new peak.

According to market watchers like Redstone COO Marcin Kazmierczak, the rally reflects bullish momentum driven by Trump’s newly announced 30% tariffs on the EU and Mexico, combined with institutional demand from ETF inflows.

BTC was not alone in its stellar performance, with ETH reclaiming the $3,000 mark, and XRP nearing $3, as the total crypto market cap swelled past $3.9 trillion.