A trader on Hyperliquid named “Tether FUD” went viral over the weekend for taking on considerable leverage for a bearish bet on bitcoin (BTC). Quickly nicknamed the “HyperBearWhale,” counterparties came close to liquidating their 40X leveraged short worth over $330 million.
Just in time, the whale added $5 million of collateral to lift and save its position from liquidation.
By Sunday night, the trader’s portfolio had increased to $21 million as their margined bet swelled to $450 million. Its single perpetual futures bet had paid off an impressive $3.5 million within just 24 hours.
Still open as of that time, Tether FUD continued to ride the trade. Profit and loss (PnL) ticked up and down by hundreds of thousands of dollars each minute.
Actively managing the short BTC position, the leveraged trader modified their take-profit price target, increased collateral, and modified its leverage ratio. It added a relatively small, $2.3 million long position in the MELANIA memecoin.
Market observers mythologized the hyper-bearish whale, insisting they must be a fed or otherwise “knows something.”
Tether FUD notching up the Hyperliquid leaderboard
According to the original definition, a “whale” must possess over 1,000 BTC or $83 million. Colloquially, the term now vaguely describes a wide range of multi-millionaire traders. Tether FUD, whose portfolio was worth $21 million on Sunday night, technically qualifies as a dolphin.
In any case, the trader was far from the wealthiest on Hyperliquid, a platform where fund managers trade crypto and advertise their funds via leaderboards. Indeed, there are Hyperliquid “vaults” (a euphemism for hedge funds) whose “leaders” manage billions of dollars.
In contrast, Tether FUD manages a personal portfolio worth just $21 million.
Read more: Are North Korean hackers liquidated on HyperLiquid planning something?
On Sunday, marked by a lull in post-NFL football sports betting, restless speculators suggested “whale hunting” the HyperBearWhale to forcibly liquidate the short position. They invoked WallStreetBets and broadcasted rallying cries for a coordinated pump of BTC’s price.
CBB, a self-described liquidity provider, claimed Justin Sun sent Tether FUD a direct message as a scare tactic. CBB amused repliers by blurring out Justin Sun’s name but not his well-known social media handle in a screenshot.
As of Sunday night, there was little detail about the trader beyond the display handle. The Tether FUD name is a historical reference to a recurring series of fear, uncertainty, and doubt about the alleged price impact of USDT mints on the price of BTC.
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