On-Chain Whale Panorama: Wealth and Crisis on Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid has become the battleground for on-chain derivatives trading. On this platform, stories of massive capital growth and rapid zeroing out unfold daily.

By analyzing on-chain trading data, we find that these large traders exhibit vastly different trading styles. Some have ample capital but make frequent decision errors, serving as contrarian references; others lurk for months before striking precisely at market opportunities; still, others rely on algorithmic systems to trade frequently, accumulating profits from tiny price differences.

We have categorized the five most representative types of traders on Hyperliquid. Through reviewing their thousands of trading records, perhaps you can find your own trading insights.

High Win Rate Trap: Short-term Precision Masks Long-term Losses

A well-known large trader has lost up to $46.5 million on Hyperliquid, ranking high on the platform’s loss list. His trading characteristics are notable: a 77% win rate appears impressive, but his profit-loss ratio is as high as 1:8.6—meaning for every dollar earned, he risks $8.60.

More concerning is the contrast in his holding patience: profitable positions are closed after an average of 31 hours, while losing positions are held for up to 109 hours before exiting. This reflects a typical psychological flaw—taking profits quickly and holding onto losses stubbornly.

Before and after the massive market decline on October 11, his account shifted from a profit of $15 million to a loss of over $11 million instantly. His unidirectional style with 94% long positions, combined with the habit of adding margin during losses rather than cutting losses, ultimately led to escalating losses. From a trading psychology perspective, loss aversion, refusal to admit mistakes, and the sunk cost fallacy are his fatal flaws.

Ambush Sniper: Great Gains Hidden in Restraint

Contrasting sharply with frequent traders, another large trader demonstrates extreme patience. Over six months, he completed only 5 trades but achieved an 80% win rate, earning $98.39 million.

His most famous move occurred on October 11—depositing $80 million and directly shorting BTC, realizing over $92 million in unrealized gains within five days. After this trade, he did not chase the market but maintained restraint. By October 20, he gained another $6.34 million; although he suffered a small loss of $1.3 million on November 8, it was negligible compared to his overall profit. Currently, his account still holds $269 million worth of ETH long positions, with an unrealized profit of about $17.29 million.

This “crocodile-style” strategy—long-term lurking, one-hit kills, quick retreat—stands in stark contrast to frequent trading.

Market Maker-Level Algorithm Machines: Harvesters of Billions

At the top of Hyperliquid’s profit rankings are super players at the market maker level. One address has deposited $1.11 billion and withdrawn $1.16 billion, with an unrealized profit of $14.3 million.

These institutions profit by first establishing underlying positions (like shorts) and then frequently adjusting their positions through high-frequency algorithms. They earn two types of returns: profits from long-term trend positions and gains from exploiting market arbitrage via high-frequency trading.

Among the top addresses, 51% of their trades are order placements—placing bids and asks to capture tiny fluctuations. Although individual trades are only about $733, they complete an average of 634 orders per day, accumulating tens of thousands of dollars daily. This strategy relies on institutional-level fee advantages, quantitative algorithms, and hardware support—impossible for ordinary retail traders to replicate.

Rapid Growth Myth of Small Funds: Fragile Prosperity Under High Leverage

One account invested only $46,000 and was still down 85% by the end of November. But after December 2, it seemed to undergo a transformation—winning all 21 trades, growing the remaining $129 to $29,000.

The key to this shift involved three changes. First, narrowing the trading scope from over ten coins to only ETH; second, reducing holding time from 33.76 hours to 4.98 hours, shifting to a “cut and run” approach; third, adopting a “rollover” trading method—common in rapid small-cap growth.

However, as profits accelerated, leverage increased from an average of 3.89x to 6.02x, amplifying risk exposure. A quick market surge then caused this ETH position to incur over $9,000 in losses, turning the profit curve from exponential growth into a cliff.

Single-Token Obsession: The Tragic Tale of Longs and Unmanageable Trends

A whale invested $236 million, with 86.32% in long positions. Out of over 700 trades, 650 were longs. Despite a loss of over $5 million and a drawdown of about 2.4%, the structure of his losses reveals a critical problem.

Profits from coins like FARTCOIN and SUI exceeded $1 million each, and ETH and BTC contributed nearly $1 million each. But a single coin, SOL, lost $9.48 million—absorbing all his profits. Excluding SOL, he would be an excellent trader with a total profit of around $4 million across other coins.

The issue lies in his obsession with SOL—persistently holding long positions despite ongoing bearish trends, leading to repeated liquidation. This shows that even with billions in capital, emotional attachment to a single coin can easily destroy an account, especially when your market view is contrary to the trend.

The Ultimate Market Lesson

This deep-water zone woven with whales and algorithms has no guaranteed winning formula. For ordinary investors, most of these large traders’ operations are impossible to replicate.

What we truly need to learn is not how to make hundreds of millions of dollars, but how to avoid becoming failures who frequently hold onto losses and refuse to cut them. Do not attempt to challenge relentless algorithms with limited funds and speed.

Respect the market, honor the trend, and control risk—perhaps these are the most valuable lessons the market has to offer us.