BTC $83,671 
ETH $2,521 
USDT $0.9992 
BNB $744.63 
XRP $1.38 
USDC $0.9998 
SOL $108.03 
TRX $0.3278 
FIGR_HELOC $1.07 
ZEC $1,213 Shorting XRP, Bitcoin, Ether, SOL Has This NEAR Trader up $20 Million
A Hyperliquid trader's $20.55 million unrealized gain from a NEAR long position is offset by $1.33 million in losses from shorts on XRP, BTC, ETH, SOL and other
Key takeaways
- NEAR ETF drew $58M. The first U.S. spot NEAR ETF pulled in nearly $58 million in its first week after launch.
- Short side down $1.33M. The trader's $14.7 million in large-cap shorts is down roughly $1.33 million total.
- NEAR up 145% in a month. NEAR climbed more than 145% in the month before the trader's long position hit $20 million in profit.
What happened
A Hyperliquid trader who bought 5.76 million NEAR at $2.35 in September is now sitting on roughly $20.55 million in unrealized profit, as NEAR's price rose more than 145% in a month to hit $5.82 as of October 12. The same account also holds short positions of about $2 million each on XRP, BTC, ETH, SOL, BNB, ADA and AVAX, totaling roughly $14.7 million in bets against large-cap coins. Those shorts are mostly underwater, with a combined loss of about $1.33 million.
The bitcoin short, opened at an average of $79,550, has lost value as BTC pushed toward $84,000 on October 11, when roughly $7.18 million in NEAR positions were liquidated, mostly shorts per a Kook Capital heatmap.
Why it matters
The trade highlights the impact of new crypto ETFs on token price action. The first U.S. spot NEAR ETF, launched by Bitwise on September 29, pulled in nearly $58 million in its first week, opening the asset to brokerage capital for the first time. Institutional demand for crypto ETFs extends beyond NEAR: Grayscale's Solana ETF, GSOL, saw the firm purchase up to $20.2 million worth of SOL over 20 days, with only one day of outflows in that period, while rival VanEck's VSOL ETF saw $700,000 in outflows.
NEAR's network usage has also climbed alongside its price: its cross-chain swap layer NEAR Intents logged $1.84 billion in September volume, with cumulative volume estimated at $31 billion to $33 billion across more than 30 chains. Supply-side changes have also supported price: a late 2025 governance cut reduced NEAR's maximum annual inflation from about 5% to roughly 2.5%, and a newer proposal would lower issuance further to 1.6% over two years, reducing new token supply.
Background
- The trade is a departure from the all-in directional bets common among Hyperliquid whales, such as a recently liquidated $69 million ether position that was reloaded 30 minutes later, and a $32 million bitcoin short tied to the prior year's October 10 crash.
What is still unclear
- It is unclear how long NEAR's current momentum will hold, as analysts warn its relative strength index has hit overbought zones above 70 to 80, and ETF inflows can reverse quickly.
Questions readers ask
How much profit did the NEAR trader make?
The Hyperliquid trader has roughly $20.55 million in unrealized profit from their NEAR long position opened at $2.35 in September. Their short positions across major coins are down a combined $1.33 million.
How much did the first US spot NEAR ETF attract?
The Bitwise NRR fund, the first U.S. spot NEAR ETF, pulled in nearly $58 million in its first week after launching on September 29.
What is the trader's total short exposure?
The trader holds about $2 million in short positions each for XRP, BTC, ETH, SOL, BNB, ADA and AVAX, totaling roughly $14.7 million in large-cap short bets.
