The cryptocurrency market is experiencing tumultuous waves, and the once-revered trading experts are facing their darkest moments. On November 5, the cryptocurrency market was rocked by a significant downturn, with two highly watched whale investors suffering what can only be described as the most severe losses of their careers. This crash, which began during the Asian trading session, plunged the entire market into panic and uncertainty.
1. Overview of Whale Gains and Losses Today: A Brutal Battle Worth Tens of Millions of Dollars
The Cruel Picture of Market Data
● BTC briefly fell below the critical psychological level of $100,000 on the morning of November 5, hitting a low of $98,500, marking a new three-month low.
● At the same time, ETH plummeted to an intraday low of $3,057, with a daily drop of over 15%. This sudden crash became the last straw for many long holders, including two once-prominent whales.
The Complete Collapse of the Former "100% Win Rate" Whale
● This trader, who once boasted a record of 14 wins out of 18 trades and was revered in the community as the "100% Win Rate Insider Whale," suffered a devastating blow during the market crash on November 5. According to monitoring data from on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), this whale's position quickly hit the liquidation line during the morning's sharp decline, ultimately forcing them to liquidate all remaining long positions.
● "This is one of the largest individual investor loss cases we have witnessed this year," Ai Yi wrote in the report, "the whale completed the liquidation of all positions within 10 minutes, with a single loss amounting to an astonishing $39.37 million."
The Difficult Self-Rescue of the "10.11 Insider Whale"
● Another market focus, the "10.11 Insider Whale," also could not escape misfortune. According to AiCoin data, this whale's revolving loan position approached the liquidation line due to the market drop, forcing them to sell 465.4 WBTC and 2,686 ETH, raising $56.52 million to repay debts.
● "This is a typical self-rescue behavior of a leveraged trader facing liquidation risk," analysts from blockchain data analysis platform Arkham pointed out in the report, "although selling assets temporarily alleviated the liquidation pressure, it means that this whale has effectively acknowledged the failure of their long strategy."
From the table data, it is evident that the once-mighty "100% Win Rate Whale" has fallen from grace, while the "10.11 Insider Whale" is struggling to avoid liquidation. These two whales, who once commanded the market, now face an unprecedented survival crisis.
2. Market Background and Chain Reactions: A Storm Sweeping the Entire Cryptocurrency World
The market crash on November 5 was not an isolated event but the result of multiple factors working together. Understanding this background helps us better grasp the deeper reasons behind the significant losses faced by the two whales.
Deterioration of the Global Macroeconomic Environment
● This round of cryptocurrency decline is closely related to changes in the global macroeconomic environment. The Federal Reserve's hawkish stance during the October meeting left the market with no expectations for interest rate cuts in the short term. "The current market environment is extremely unfavorable for risk assets," said veteran Wall Street analyst Mark Douglas, "the continued strength of the dollar index is causing funds to withdraw from high-risk assets like cryptocurrencies."
● At the same time, the escalation of global geopolitical risks has also intensified market uncertainty. The tensions in the Middle East, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the reshaping of global trade patterns have led investors to prefer holding more cash-like assets. "In such an environment, high-volatility assets like cryptocurrencies naturally become the first to be sold off," Douglas added.
Cumulative Internal Factors in the Cryptocurrency Market
● In addition to external factors, the structural issues within the cryptocurrency market cannot be ignored. The decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Balancer suffered a hacker attack, resulting in over $100 million in losses, further shaking investor confidence.
The Scale and Impact of the Liquidation Wave
● This crash led to a massive liquidation of long positions. According to AiCoin data, nearly 470,000 people were liquidated globally in the last 24 hours, with a total liquidation amount reaching $2.055 billion, of which over 80% were long position liquidations.
3. The Operational Trajectory of the "10.11 Insider Whale": From Deity to Mortal
The name "10.11 Insider Whale" comes from its precise operations before the market flash crash on October 11. This whale, while the market was still thriving, keenly sensed the risks and took a series of astonishing actions.
Brilliant Short Selling Achievements
● Between October 8 and 10, while most investors were still immersed in dreams of continued market rises, this whale began to lay out large-scale short positions. According to data from the Hyperliquid platform, this whale opened short positions in BTC and ETH worth a total of $1.1 billion, which attracted widespread attention in the market.
● On October 11, the market indeed experienced a flash crash, with Bitcoin dropping over 20% in a single day and Ethereum falling even more. Analysts estimate that this whale made an estimated $190 million to $200 million in profits during this process, setting a personal trading record.
Strategy Shift and Dilemma
However, after the successful short selling, this whale gradually shifted to a long strategy. On November 2, they transferred 1,200 BTC (worth about $132 million) to the Kraken exchange, which was interpreted by the market as a signal to take profits. But the subsequent developments exceeded everyone's expectations.
● The market crash on November 5 put this whale's revolving loan position at risk of liquidation. According to monitoring from Arkham Intelligence, this whale was forced to sell 465.4 WBTC at $102,722 and 2,686 ETH at $3,244, raising a total of $56.52 million to repay debts.
● "This was a painful decision, but also a necessary one," noted an analyst from blockchain venture capital firm Pantera Capital, "actively reducing positions when facing liquidation risk is much wiser than passively being liquidated. Although this means acknowledging mistakes, it at least preserves most of the positions."
4. The Rise and Fall of the "100% Win Rate Whale": The Shattering of a Myth and Lessons Learned
The experience of another focal whale, the "100% Win Rate Whale," is even more dramatic. This whale once achieved a record of 14 consecutive wins, profiting $15.83 million, and was revered in the community as the "100% Win Rate Insider Whale." However, starting from the end of October, their fate took a shocking turn.
The Art of Trading During Glory Days
● For most of October, this whale demonstrated astonishing trading skills. On October 23, they closed all BTC short positions, earning $835,000 and maintaining a perfect record. At this point, their trading win rate was still 100%, and total account profits continued to reach new highs.
● At the end of October, as the market showed signs of stabilization, this whale began to shift to long positions. Initially, this strategy once again proved their "magic"—within three days of establishing long positions, unrealized profits exceeded $10 million. On October 27, their unrealized profits peaked at over $20 million, reaching the pinnacle of this round of long operations.
Key Turning Point from Prosperity to Decline
However, market reversals are always unexpected. Starting from October 28, as the market re-entered a downward channel, this whale's positions began to incur losses.
● On October 30, this whale re-established long positions in BTC and ETH, but this time the market did not give them another chance. On that day, their futures positions showed an unrealized loss of $3.33 million. On October 31, as the market further declined, their unrealized losses expanded to over $16 million.
● "This was a significant turning point in their trading career," analyzed Li Wei, chief analyst at cryptocurrency hedge fund Arcane Research, "from this point on, they had effectively fallen into the typical 'averaging down' trap."
● On November 2, this whale continued to increase their SOL long positions, spending about $4.39 million in an attempt to average down costs and reverse the situation. This action temporarily narrowed their unrealized losses to $6.3 million, but it was merely a brief calm before the storm.
● On November 5, the market crash completely shattered all their hopes. After prices quickly fell below critical support levels, their positions rapidly hit the liquidation line, ultimately forcing them to liquidate all long positions at a loss of $39.37 million.
"This is a typical case of failure due to overconfidence," Li Wei pointed out, "when their previous operations were consistently successful, it is easy to develop an illusion of invincibility, leading to neglect of the importance of risk management."
5. Lessons from Whale Failures for Ordinary Investors
Risk Management is Always Paramount
● Whether it is the complete liquidation of the "100% Win Rate Whale" or the forced reduction of positions by the "10.11 Insider Whale," both reveal a common issue: a lack of awareness of risk management.
● "In these cases, we see the dangers of excessive leverage," pointed out Professor Wang Xiaomei, a financial risk management expert, "when investors use excessively high leverage, they are effectively placing themselves in a very vulnerable position. Even slight market fluctuations can lead to massive losses or even liquidation."
Correctly Viewing the "Trading Myth"
● The shattering of the "100% Win Rate Whale" myth once again proves a truth in financial markets: no one can consistently beat the market.
● "In the investment field, survivorship bias is a common phenomenon," analyzed Dr. Zhang Qiang, a behavioral finance expert, "we often focus only on successful stories while ignoring the existence of many more failures. When a trader achieves consecutive successes, the media and community often deify them, which is actually a cognitive bias."
Join our community to discuss and grow stronger together!
Official Telegram community: https://t.me/aicoincn
AiCoin Chinese Twitter: https://x.com/AiCoinzh
OKX benefits group: https://aicoin.com/link/chat?cid=l61eM4owQ
Binance benefits group: https://aicoin.com/link/chat?cid=ynr7d1P6Z
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
