Trader makes $88 million in 30 minutes, times Trump’s tariff move perfectly with Bitcoin s
October 11, 2025
Bitcoin short trade: An anonymous trader reportedly made $88 million by shorting Bitcoin just thirty minutes before US president Donald Trump’s surprise tariff announcement, sparking debate about possible insider trading, as per a report.
Bitcoin Falls After Trump’s Tariff Announcement
Bitcoin fell 17 percent following the news, a drop worsened by short-term holders who bought nearly 500 BTC at a record $122,000, only to be caught in the plunge, as per a AMB Crypto report.
Whales Placed Massive Short Bets Ahead of Trump’s Post
Two days before Trump’s Truth Social post, on-chain data showed whales placing billion-dollar short bets on Bitcoin and Ethereum. The reason behind these trades remains unclear, and it is uncertain whether they were placed by the same whale, according to the report.
Then came Trump’s announcement. From the White House, he revealed new 100 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, and within hours, markets tumbled. Bitcoin dropped 17 percent, leading to over $20 billion in liquidations, as per the AMB Crypto report.
Insider Trading Questions Arise Over Perfectly Timed Bitcoin Short
The same short position doubled right before Trump’s speech, and when the crash hit, the trader closed their position with an $88 million profit.
The timing has raised questions across the crypto community about whether it was a lucky trade or a calculated move by someone with advance knowledge, as per the report.
Largest Liquidation Event in Crypto Market History
As per CoinGlass, the events of October 10 resulted in the largest liquidation event in crypto market history. Over $19.1 billion in leveraged positions were wiped out in just 24 hours, far exceeding any previous crash, as per the report.
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Tariff-Driven Crash Outweighs COVID and FTX Collapses
For comparison, the March 2020 COVID crash saw about $1.2 billion liquidated, while the November 2022 FTX collapse triggered around $1.6 billion, as per a CCN report. The October 2025 tariff-driven crash was nearly 20 times larger than those events, marking it as the biggest in dollar terms, as per the CCN report.
Roughly 16.7 of the $19.1 billion in losses came from long positions, showing that most traders were overly optimistic and unhedged, according to the report. About 1.6 million trading accounts were liquidated as exchanges automatically sold off collateral. In the first hour alone, more than $7 billion worth of long positions were erased as stop-losses and margin calls cascaded through the market, as per a CCN report.
Despite the scale of the collapse, some analysts have noted that Bitcoin has often recovered quickly after sharp October declines. In 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021, similar drops were followed by rebounds within a week, sometimes with gains over 20 percent, as per the AMB Crypto report.
FAQs
How did the trader make $88 million?
By shorting Bitcoin just 30 minutes before Trump’s tariff announcement, then closing the position after prices crashed.
How much did Bitcoin fall after the announcement?
Bitcoin dropped about 17 percent within hours of the news.
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