Trump's surprise announcement of new tariffs triggered a crypto market bloodbath. Altcoins plummeted up to 60%, with Bitcoin dropping to $102,000, Ethereum below $3,700, and Solana crashing to $137. Amidst the chaos, an unidentified trader made a precise move, pocketing $88 million in profit with a strategic short position opened just 30 minutes before the official announcement.
The details of the bitcoin operation, revealed by analyst @Vivek4real_, are damning. This trader opened a massive short position on an account created that very day, just minutes before the information became public.
When Trump announced the tariffs, the market plunged into a liquidation spiral. As analyst @MacroCRG points out, “I still can’t believe what just happened. Altcoins as a whole were obliterated by -60% in just 10 minutes.” This unprecedented volatility allowed the mysterious trader to close their position with colossal profits before vanishing as quickly as they appeared.
For retail investors, the shock is twofold: not only have they suffered devastating losses, but they now realize that certain actors clearly had privileged information allowing them to position themselves in advance. The opening of a Bitcoin short from a same-day account and the timing of 30 minutes before the announcement leaves little room for doubt: This is a flagrant case of trading on non-public information.
This event highlights the structural vulnerability of the crypto market to insider trading. Unlike traditional markets where such operations trigger investigations and severe sanctions, the decentralized and international nature of crypto makes prosecution extremely complex. The relative anonymity offered by offshore platforms and sophisticated obfuscation techniques virtually guarantee impunity for malicious actors.
While thousands of investors mourn their losses, this trader pockets 190 million dollars without fearing consequences. This stark contrast reminds us that the playing field is not level and that the absence of strict regulation allows a minority to exploit privileged information at the expense of the majority. This episode will undoubtedly strengthen calls for increased oversight, the only way to restore a minimum level of trust in an ecosystem still too permeable to manipulation.
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Charles Ledoux is a Bitcoin and blockchain technology specialist. A graduate of the Crypto Academy, he has been a Bitcoin miner for over a year. He has written numerous masterclasses to educate newcomers to the industry and has authored over 2,000 articles on cryptocurrency. Now, he aims to share his passion for crypto through his articles for InvestX.
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