Bear Hunting: Whales vs. the $460M Bitcoin Short

Over the last 24 hours, we’ve witnessed a major bear open a massive leveraged position on Bitcoin. Initially, it was a $330 million short at 40x cross leverage when Bitcoin was at $84,040. This has now increased to a $460 million position, as the trader expanded their stake to avoid liquidation.

On the initial $330 million position, the liquidation level was $85,300, leaving little margin for error. Many speculated that this was either an insider trader with privileged information or simply a high-stakes gambler. At first, the bear was sitting comfortably in profit as Bitcoin dropped to $82,300. But then, the market struck back.

A group of whales banded together to force liquidation, triggering what could be called bear-hunting season. In just nine minutes, these whales managed to pump Bitcoin up 2.3% to $85,100—just $200 away from the bear’s liquidation level. The aggressive move left the bear scrambling, ultimately adding to their position to push their liquidation price higher.

Unfortunately for the whales, the bear survived by the skin of their teeth and is now sitting in even greater profit, as the market failed to sustain the rally and retraced downward.

*For those interested in tracking the trader’s positions live, check out the image and the link above.*

Bitcoin’s Range Holds Firm—For Now

Despite the volatility and bear-hunting drama, Bitcoin remains within its established range of $81K–$85K. While this massive bear short position makes it seem like the bears are in control, the bigger picture suggests neutral market conditions. However, this week could bring a decisive move.

The market is already bracing for the latest round of Trump tariff news, which seems to be becoming a frequent market disruptor. More significantly, all eyes are on Jerome Powell’s press conference following the interest rate decision on Thursday morning—an event that could finally push Bitcoin out of this range.

Stormrake Spotlight: Sonic (S) ($0.52)

After five consecutive bullish days, Sonic has experienced a timely 9.90% retracement, meeting the 21 EMA. This pullback presents a key buying opportunity and a chance to dollar-cost average below a critical accumulation level.

Despite the overall bearish market, Sonic continues to dominate on-chain and exhibit promising price action—a strong sign for its future potential.

BTC/USD Key Levels and Price Action:

Bitcoin remains range-bound between $81,600 and $85,200. The recent failed attempt to liquidate the bear is evident in a candle with an extremely long wick, which met the top of the range before rejecting sharply.

With Bitcoin now trading below all key moving averages, momentum has flipped back in favour of the bears.

BTC Total ETF Flows for 16 Mar: $ (data not available at the time of writing)

ETH/USD Key Levels and Price Action:

Ethereum has now spent almost a full week consolidating between $1,797 and $2,019. Overnight, ETH saw another bearish flip of the 21 and 55 EMA, reinforcing downside momentum.

At present, ETH favours a move toward the lower end of the consolidation range unless bulls can reclaim key levels.

ETH Total ETF Flows for 16 Mar: $ (data not available at the time of writing)

*All prices are denominated in USD unless stated otherwise*

Written by Alexandar Artis

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