New York, NY – Financial investigators and crypto watchers are asking one question this weekend: who was the mystery trader who made nearly $200 million in just two hours on Friday?
According to the market tracking account Unusual Whales, a new cryptocurrency account was opened Friday morning — and within 30 minutes of President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, the account allegedly placed a massive, leveraged short position against Bitcoin.
When the tariff news hit, the crypto market tanked. Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana all plunged in what analytics firm CoinGlass called the largest liquidation event in crypto history — totaling more than $18.2 billion in forced sell-offs.
Bitcoin dropped as low as $103,000 before partially rebounding, while Ether fell more than 14% and Solana nearly 20%. The trader’s short position reportedly generated about $192 million in profit during the two-hour downturn.
The timing has raised eyebrows across both Wall Street and Washington. Analysts say the trade’s precision — placed just before a major policy announcement — “could” attract attention from financial regulators if insider knowledge or advance information played a role.
Trump’s tariff threat also rattled broader markets, sending the Nasdaq and S&P 500 into their steepest declines in six months.
For now, the identity of the trader remains unknown — and their windfall, unexplained.
