Ether shorter gains $68M on 50x leverage as ETH drops 11%

The risky short bet was made in anticipation of Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade as Ether fell nearly 11% amid growing global trade concerns.

An anonymous cryptocurrency trader has accumulated almost $68 million in unrealized profit by shorting Ether amid its recent price decline.

According to blockchain data from Hypurrscan, the trader opened a 50x leveraged short position when Ether (ETH) was trading at $3,176, on Feb. 1. As of 9:06 am UTC on March 5, the position had almost $68 million in unrealized profit.

Shorting involves “borrowing” the underlying cryptocurrency from a broker, selling it at the current price, and then repurchasing it once the price falls — a strategy used by traders to bet on the price decline of an asset.

Read more