Whale of a Time: Justin Sun’s $16M Magic Trick on Hyperliquid! 🐋💰

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In the dim light of the trading day, a colossal whale, with the audacity of a circus performer, unleashed a torrent of $16 million worth of USDC upon the unsuspecting Hyperliquid exchange. Within mere moments, this behemoth loaded up on XPL longs, sending the token soaring like a kite caught in a tempest, from a humble $0.58 to a dizzying $1.80. Oh, the sweet taste of chaos! 🍃

A $16 Million Profit in Under a Minute

According to the oracle known as Lookonchain, this wallet, a veritable magician, partially closed its position in less than a minute, pocketing a staggering $14 to $16 million in profit within the hour. Speculation swirled like autumn leaves, hinting that this wallet might just be linked to the infamous Tron founder, Justin Sun. Who knew trading could be so… profitable? 😏

“Justin Sun just locked in $16M profit in under 60 seconds… Sent $XPL soaring to $1.80 (+200% in 2 minutes). And he’s STILL holding 15.2M $XPL ($10.2M) long,” one enthusiastic X user exclaimed, as if announcing the arrival of a new messiah. 🙌

Hyperliquid’s HLP Vault Caught in Volatility

While the whales danced in their newfound riches, Hyperliquid’s HLP vault managed to scrape together a meager $47,000 in fees. Yet, this vault had tasted the bitter fruit of volatility before, suffering a near $12 million loss during a previous JELLY token squeeze. Ah, the duality of liquidity provision: a feast in calm waters, yet a shipwreck in storms! 🌊

Hyperliquid, ever the optimist, had previously refunded traders after the JELLY debacle and fortified its defenses, yet here we are again, with a whale exploiting the frail fabric of thin liquidity. What a delightful cycle! 🎢

The Sequence of Events

At the stroke of 05:35, the XPL surge began, as wallet 0xb9c…6801e dove headfirst into millions of XPL, clearing the order book like a broom sweeping away dust. Within moments, $16 million in profit was realized, leaving smaller traders gasping for air. 💨

Funding for this grand spectacle came from two sources: 4.99M USDC transferred from 0x5dE…c03c3 three hours earlier and 10.98M USDT cross-chained via DeBridge from 0xae0…97150. A well-orchestrated performance, indeed!

The whispers of a Justin Sun connection stem from a historical transfer: years ago, this wallet sent ETH to an address associated with him. But alas, no direct evidence exists. The wallet had been quietly amassing small XPL longs since August 24, still holding $8.58M in 1x XPL longs, with unrealized profits of about $620,000. A true connoisseur of the game! 🎩

Traders Call It a “Massacre”

Star Platinum, a witness to this financial carnage, described the scene: “Dropped 16M USDC into Hyperliquid… bought 15.2M XPL, wiped the order book and sent the price from $0.60 to $1.80 (+200%). The biggest victim was wallet 0xc2cb…edf9, forced out of a 7M USDC short. In total, 16.6M USDC in shorts were obliterated.” 💥

He added that XPL perp volume hit $161M in 24h (+311%), open interest collapsed 70%, and fees spiked to $7.7M (ATH). Yet, like a cruel joke, hours later, XPL fell back to $0.60. The market giveth, and the market taketh away! 😱

For some, the losses were devastating. One trader lamented: “Just lost $185k USDC on @HyperliquidX $XPL pump. No other exchange affected, only Hyperliquid. Have been a massive fan of Hyperliquid, but this is pure manipulation. Added a ton of margin to stay safe and lost it all.” Oh, the irony! 😩

Crypto trader Nonzee echoed the sentiment: “Justin Sun just locked in $16M profit in under 60 seconds… Easily one of the craziest liquidation cascades ever seen on Hyperliquid.”

Lookonchain confirmed the spectacle: “Whale 0xb9c0 deposited 16M $USDC… sending the price soaring to $1.8 and liquidating everyone. He then closed his position and made a profit of over $14M in less than an hour.” A true masterclass in trading! 🎓

Lessons for Retail Traders

The XPL event serves as a stark reminder of the perils lurking in thinly liquid markets. When oversized orders crash into these fragile waters, they can wipe the order book clean and trigger a chain reaction of liquidations, leaving smaller traders floundering like fish out of water. 🐟

For the whales, this episode was yet another grand payday. For the everyday trader, it was a costly lesson in the unforgiving nature of these markets. A round of applause for the brave souls who dare to tread these treacherous waters! 👏

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2025-08-27 10:51