A crypto trader just turned well-timed bets into $6.8 million after placing highly leveraged bets on Bitcoin and Ethereum, scaling into long positions hours before President Donald Trump’s U.S. crypto reserve announcement on Sunday.
The trader, operating on decentralized derivatives exchange, Hyperliquid, deposited $6 million in USDC ($1.00) and used 50x leverage to open long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain.
The strategy carried significant risk—a 2% price drop would have triggered liquidation—but instead, the market surged following Trump’s announcement, allowing the trader to exit with millions in gains.
Strategic market timing raises questions
At 9:49 AM ET on Sunday, the trader began aggressively increasing Ethereum long positions, acquiring hundreds of ETH ($2,517.03) contracts at $2,190 to $2,202, according to data provided by analytics dashboard Hyperdash.
Just 35 minutes later, at 10:24 AM ET, Trump announced on Truth Social that his administration would establish a U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve, naming Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP ($2.95), Solana, and Cardano as
