Ants are scared...XRP whale bets 20x long on sharp drop to $1.3

▲ XRP/ChatGPT generated image

Even after XRP fell to the $1.3 range, a Hyperliquid whale opened a 20x long position, betting a large sum on a market rebound.

According to TheCryptoBasic on May 27 (local time), a crypto whale opened a 20x leveraged long position on XRP on Hyperliquid. Xaif, an XRP community figure, revealed the trade via X (formerly Twitter), stating that the trader took a 792,200 XRP long position at an entry price of $1.3564. The size of the position exceeded $170,000, and the applied leverage was up to 20x.

"It's maximum leverage. Whales don't make these trades for fun," Xaif said. TheCryptoBasic noted that this trade occurred during a period of XRP price decline amid a broader market correction. As of the time of writing, XRP was trading around $1.32, down 1.35% in the last 24 hours. Since the trader's entry price was higher than the current price, the XRP position was in a loss-making territory.

The screen shared by Xaif showed an unrealized loss of approximately $3,757 for the XRP position. TheCryptoBasic reported that when XRP trades at $1.32, the loss could approach $30,000. In a 20x leveraged structure, even small price fluctuations can significantly amplify profits and losses, so this bet is interpreted as an aggressive position with both increased expectations for a rebound and heightened liquidation risk.

However, the whale was partially offsetting the XRP losses with profits from other positions. According to the Hyperliquid screen, the largest profitable position was a 40x leveraged long trade on Bitcoin (BTC) worth 254.98 BTC, with unrealized profits exceeding $138,000. Another profitable position, a HYPE 10x leveraged trade, also recorded profits of over $74,000. ZEC, Solana (SOL), Aave (AAVE), and FARTCOIN positions were also in profit, while PUMP recorded losses of over $16,000, and KPEPE and AVAX were also in loss-making territory.

Xaif previously presented abnormal movements in the XRP derivatives market as a bullish indicator. According to Xaif, XRP open interest increased to over 60 million, a 30-day high. At the same time, Binance's perpetual futures cumulative volume delta dropped to negative $641.9 million, while the spot cumulative volume delta rose to positive $397.3 million. TheCryptoBasic reported that this could be interpreted as spot buyers accumulating XRP while futures traders aggressively build short positions.

Some traders believe that such a structure could increase the possibility of a short squeeze if XRP suddenly reverses upwards. This is because if leveraged short position holders quickly close their positions, buying pressure could surge all at once. TheCryptoBasic reported that the whale's decision to open a maximum leveraged XRP long position amidst a bearish market indicates expectations for a short-term rebound.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*