Recently, the "50x Leverage Whale" (address starting with 0xf3, nicknamed "Inside Guy") on the Hyperliquid platform has shocked the crypto market with his high-profile operations and astonishing profits. Relying on high leverage, precise timing, and multi-platform strategies, he has netted around $22 million in a few months, including $2 million snatched from the Hyperliquid treasury HLP (Hyperliquidity Provider) through "liquidation" operations, sparking heated discussions. This article will trace his trading trajectory along the timeline, delve into his operation techniques, recalculate the profits based on clearly realized gains, present the cumulative profit and loss in a table, and reveal the market and platform's reactions, outlining an extraordinary crypto battle.

Timeline and Operation Narrative

March 2-3: BTC and ETH Long Positions Earn Big

The legend of the Inside Guy began in early March. According to Lookonchain's monitoring, he went long on BTC and ETH with 50x leverage on Hyperliquid, catching the price surge triggered by Trump's crypto reserve announcement. He closed most of his long positions in a single day, earning over $6.8 million. This precise operation laid the foundation for his windfall profits, and the market began to pay attention to this mysterious trader.

March 10-12: ETH/BTC Long Positions and 'Liquidation Peak'

From March 10 to 12, the whale's operations reached a climax, including the most controversial episode. On March 10, he completed two short-term ETH long trades with a 100% success rate, netting $2.2 million. On March 12, he deposited $5.22 million into Hyperliquid and opened long positions on ETH at $1,884.4 (liquidation price $1,838.2) and BTC at $82,003.9 (liquidation price $61,182) with 50x leverage. He then converted the BTC position to an ETH long, adding $10 million USDC as margin, increasing his ETH position to 140,000 ETH (about $270 million), accounting for 24.65% of the platform's total ETH position, with an unrealized profit of $3.1 million.

A dramatic turn of events occurred between 17:05 and 17:08. According to Hyperscan data, the whale attempted to withdraw funds while having an open position. First, the withdrawal failed due to "exceeding the single withdrawal limit", then the whale withdrew $17 million in two transactions (8 million and 9 million USDC), exceeding their $15.23 million USDC margin. The remaining position was quickly liquidated, and at 17:08, 140,000 ETH at $1,915 were taken over by HLP. Due to the ETH price dropping to $1,910 during the liquidation, HLP incurred around $4 million in losses, while the whale locked in $2 million in profits and exited. This "cross-margin" operation shocked the community, and Hyperliquid immediately announced that it would reduce the maximum leverage for BTC and ETH to 40x and 25x, respectively, in an attempt to patch the loophole.

March 13-14: Cross-platform expansion and the LINK saga

On March 13, the whale extended their reach to GMX, opening a $45.17 million ETH short position, while simultaneously going long on the ETH/BTC exchange rate on Hyperliquid, precisely capturing the opportunity when the rate dropped to 0.0228, earning $2.15 million in profits. The next day, they shifted their focus to LINK, investing $14.98 million to buy 506,000 LINK (at an average cost of $13.93), and opening 10x to 23x long positions on Hyperliquid and GMX. After the operation, they closed the positions and made a profit of $1.27 million. However, the 20x LINK long position was liquidated at $13.6857, resulting in a loss of $1.07 million USDC. The market was abuzz with discussions, and Hyperliquid quickly reduced the LINK leverage limit from 20x to 10x, demonstrating their vigilance towards the whale.

March 15-17: BTC short dominance and tightening of rules

Starting from March 15, the whale focused on BTC shorts, building positions with 40x leverage on Hyperliquid, with the scale reaching $330 million. The unrealized profit once reached $6.2 million, and they later realized $5.6 million in profits through TWAP. They also opened a 44.97x BTC short position on GMX, with a total scale of $194 million, and clearly realized $3.05 million in profits during this stage. On March 15, Hyperliquid announced that its trading volume had exceeded $1 trillion and increased the margin ratio from 5% to 20%, aiming to constrain high-leverage players. The market sentiment fluctuated accordingly, and investors began to worry about the platform's liquidity risk.

Analysis of the trading tactics

The whale's trading tactics are like a precise machine, both bold and delicate, combining high-risk strategies with the clever exploitation of rule loopholes. The following is a detailed analysis of their core tactics:

High Leverage Driven and Event Capture

• Leverage Trading: The whale uses 50x leverage as the core, which is the maximum allowed by Hyperliquid, to turn small fluctuations into huge profits. For example, at the end of February, he made a profit of $6.83 million on a long position in ETH/BTC, demonstrating his proficient control of high leverage. Even after the platform later reduced the leverage, he flexibly adjusted to 40x (such as the BTC short position on March 15th) to maintain high profit potential.
• Event-Driven: He reacts extremely quickly to macroeconomic events, such as the $6.83 million profit on the ETH/BTC long position within 24 hours after Trump's remarks at the end of February. This ability may come from his advanced perception of news or deep understanding of market sentiment, even triggering "insider trading" speculation.

Multi-Platform Coordination and Fund Allocation

• Cross-Platform Layout: The whale is not solely reliant on Hyperliquid. On March 13th, he opened an ETH short position on GMX, while simultaneously taking a long position in the ETH/BTC rate on Hyperliquid, forming an arbitrage combination. On March 14th, he borrowed 110,000 LINK ($1.54 million) from Aave for spot and contract operations, demonstrating his ability to integrate multi-platform resources.
• Fund Management: His fund management is highly efficient and flexible. Before the "liquidation" on March 12th, he added $10 million USDC margin, increasing his ETH position to 140,000 ETH; on March 15th, he added $3 million USDC for the BTC short position to avoid liquidation risk. This dynamic adjustment of margins ensures the stability of his high-leverage positions.

Dual-Wheel Drive of Spot and Contracts

• Strategy Design: The whale often uses spot trading to drive up prices, then leverages contracts to amplify profits. On March 14th, he invested $14.98 million to buy 506,000 LINK (at an average cost of $13.93) on the spot market, and then the price rose to $14.6, combined with 10x to 23x long positions, resulting in a profit of $1.27 million after closing the position. This "spot price manipulation + contract leverage" combination fully utilizes market depth and leverage effects.
• Execution Details: He bought LINK in batches on CowSwap (such as $5 million and $500,000 orders) to avoid one-time market impact and ensure cost control. This meticulous operation demonstrates his deep understanding of liquidity.

Rapid Entry/Exit and "Liquidation" Arbitrage

• Short-Term Rhythm: The whale is adept at quickly capturing short-term fluctuations for profit. On March 13th, he went long on ETH with 50x leverage on Hyperliquid, making $2.15 million in just 40 minutes; on March 16th, he took $3.05 million in profits from a BTC short position. This rapid entry and exit rhythm maximizes returns and reduces risk positions.
• "Liquidation" Technique: His operation on March 12th was his most unique technique. When his ETH long position had an unrealized profit of $3.1 million, he withdrew $17 million USDC, exceeding the margin by $15.23 million, causing the remaining position to be liquidated. When HLP took over the position, it incurred a $4 million loss due to the drop in ETH price, while he locked in a $2 million profit. This strategy utilizes Hyperliquid's rule of allowing withdrawal of unrealized profits, transferring the liquidation risk to the platform, becoming his "killer move" to plunder liquidity.

Risk Management and Strategy Adjustment

• Take Profit and Stop Loss: The whale is not always aggressive. After the LINK long position was liquidated on March 14th, he quickly reduced the leverage from 20x to 10x to avoid further losses. On March 17th, he used a TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price) strategy to close 108 BTC short positions, reducing market impact to ensure a $5.6 million profit.
• Adaptive Adjustment: Faced with changes in platform rules (such as the increase in margin ratio on March 15th), he shifted from 50x leverage to 40x, and supplemented a 44.97x position on GMX, demonstrating his flexible response to environmental changes.

Profit and Loss Details (Only Calculated Realized Profits)

Attracting Attention - The Whale Hunting Squad Gathers

The whale's huge profits and "liquidation" operations have caused a huge stir in the market. The rumors of "insider trading" at the end of February have shrouded him in mystery, and after the $4 million loss by HLP on March 12th, the community cried out that he was a "liquidity predator", worrying that similar operations would undermine the market foundation. Crypto KOL @Cbb0fe quickly posted to recruit a "whale hunting squad", intending to suppress this whale, and within half an hour, he posted that Tron founder Justin Sun had joined the action, showing the community's strong backlash against his influence.

Hyperliquid also took action one after another, first reducing the leverage limit for BTC and ETH to 40x and 25x respectively on March 12th, then limiting the LINK leverage to 10x on March 14th, and on March 15th, announcing an increase in the margin ratio from 5% to 20%, in an attempt to patch the rule loopholes. However, the platform's liquidity has been severely damaged: on March 13th, HLP incurred a loss of $3.23 million due to taking over a 160,000 ETH long position, and the fund pool shrank from $486 million to $351 million, a drop of 27.7%; the $4 million loss on March 12th further exposed the defects in its mechanism - allowing withdrawal of unrealized profits and not limiting large leverage orders, making HLP a "cash machine" for the whale.

Conclusion

From the low error correction in February to the "liquidation" plunder in March, the Hyperliquid 50x leverage whale has written a legend of high-risk, high-return with a net profit of about $22.62 million, including $2 million plundered from HLP. He conquered the market and "harvested the sheep" using high leverage, event-driven, and rule loopholes, truly a predator in crypto trading. However, this game has also sounded the alarm: the LINK liquidation and HLP's huge losses reveal the double-edged nature of high leverage, and the community's "whale hunting" action and Hyperliquid's rule adjustments indicate that the encirclement of such players has begun. In the future, whether the whale can continue to ride the wind and waves, or be defeated in the encirclement, remains to be seen. For ordinary investors, this is both an awe-inspiring performance and a profound warning: in the game between the whale and the platform, the retail investors may only be able to watch from the sidelines.