A crypto trader has profited $6.8 million through leveraged long positions on Bitcoin and Ether prior to an announcement by President Donald Trump regarding a new Crypto Strategic Reserve. The positions were strategically exited following the President’s confirmation, causing market prices to surge.
The trader executed these trades using $5.9 million in USD Coin on Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives exchange, with a leverage of 50x. The positions were initiated starting on March 1, with the first Ether position placed on March 2, just before Trump’s announcement. This announcement triggered a significant price hike in the market, with the trader subsequently closing positions.
Some pundits speculated about the possibility of insider trading due to the timing of the executed trades, particularly as a trader must carefully manage a 50x leverage to avoid liquidation risks. Notably, Bitcoin long positions were opened when the price was around $86,033 and closed between $87,512 and $91,399, some even before the official announcement.
Further speculation arose as Trump initially mentioned the inclusion of XRP, Solana, and Cardano in the reserve, with Bitcoin and Ether included later. This gap in announcements resulted in incremental price increases.
This strategic maneuver has prompted industry voices to question the legality of such trades, given the potential for insider knowledge. Trump’s initial posts only mentioned some assets, and it was not until later that Bitcoin and Ether were confirmed as central to the reserve. This led to suspicions about whether the trades were conducted with advance knowledge of the announcements.
President Trump’s Crypto Strategic Reserve announcement follows detailed evaluations by a newly formed Working Group on Digital Assets, with an upcoming White House Crypto Summit planned to discuss regulatory policies and stablecoin oversight, among other topics.
