On February 16, 2026, an early market participant known as “0x15a4” placed a large leveraged bet against Ethereum on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange.

The position adds to growing short interest as ETH trades near $1,969.

Large Leveraged Bet Placed on Hyperliquid

Blockchain data shows the whale opened a $39.4 million Ethereum short using 20x leverage.

The address currently holds 21,000 ETH valued at about $41.58 million. The trader also opened a Bitcoin short position with 20x leverage.

Whale “0x15a4” opened a $BTC short with 20x leverage. The whale also increased his $ETH short position, currently sitting on an unrealized profit of $1.47M.

Stats:
– 21,000 $ETH ($41.58M)
– 50 $BTC ($3.43M)https://t.co/i02gzqnQFR pic.twitter.com/QZOjYps4q5

— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) February 16, 2026

The Bitcoin position includes 50 BTC worth about $3.43 million. Combined exposure across both assets exceeds $45 million. The Ethereum short alone carries high risk due to the leverage used.

Reports indicate the whale is sitting on an unrealized profit of $1.47 million. The position was opened during a period of sharp price swings.

Hyperliquid has seen elevated derivatives activity in recent weeks.

Liquidation Risk and Market Volatility

With 20x leverage, a 5% price move against the Ethereum short could erase the collateral.

Analysts estimate that a rise toward $2,067 may trigger liquidation for this position. Liquidation thresholds remain closely monitored by traders.

Data also shows that a move above $2,066 could trigger over $1 billion in short liquidations market-wide.

Earlier this month, Hyperliquid recorded a $222.65 million single ETH liquidation. That event followed a 17% decline in price.

Ethereum is trading around $1,969 at the time of reporting. The asset has faced rapid swings amid broader crypto weakness. Traders continue to track order flow and liquidation levels.

Related Reading: Whale Opens $33M Ethereum Long With 20x Leverage on Hyperliquid

Whale Selling and Broader Bearish Trend

An early Ethereum whale has opened a $39.4 million short position using 20x leverage. The move comes as large holders continue reducing exposure across the Ethereum market.

On-chain data shows wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH have sold over 1.1 million ETH in recent weeks, worth about $2.8 billion.

AN OG WHALE HAS JUST OPENED A $39.4M ETHEREUM SHORT POSITION WITH 20X LEVERAGE.

They definitely know something! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/jll9KkJqex

— That Martini Guy ₿ (@MartiniGuyYT) February 16, 2026

Ethereum has remained under pressure after losing support near $2,900 in late January.

Market momentum has turned lower since that breakdown, and price action has stayed volatile.

Analysts attribute the weakness to fading Layer 2 momentum and broader macro uncertainty.

The new leveraged short adds to the cautious tone across derivatives markets. Traders are closely monitoring whether ETH can hold current levels or face renewed selling.

Liquidation data and whale positioning remain central to short-term price movements.

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