Crypto trader loses 13M turning 30M into 17M in just two months
A trader in the crypto market who was previously the largest staker of Ethena (ENA) has recently surrendered with $13 million in mostly realized losses. Overwhelmed by fear, the investor decided to unstake a position worth $17 million, which was initially built with an investment of approximately $30 million.
Interestingly, the trader had been accumulating his position from April 5 to April 10 by making four withdrawals of 5 million ENA tokens from Binance. As per a report by Lookonchain, these purchases resulted in a holding of 23.24 million ENA tokens valued at $30 million, with an average price of $1.29 per token.
Subsequently, the Ethereum (ETH) address ‘0x886b70db1A5Ec9DA60231D3A059b640dB7f116ed’ staked the newly acquired ENA tokens, becoming the largest staker of the token, driven by the desire for yield.
Unfortunately, the trader’s strategy did not pan out as expected, resulting in a consistent loss in price over two months since the initial purchase of the tokens. Consequently, the trader decided to unstake a position worth $17.3 million and sell 19.36 million tokens at a loss. At the time of Lookonchain’s report, the capitulation amounted to $14.1 million, with ENA priced at $0.71.
Ethena whales have been observed selling off their tokens since the all-time high reached in April. Data from Santiment showed a decrease in whale activity, with addresses holding between 10 million to 100 million ENA tokens reducing from 459 million on April 8 to 305 million on June 12.
It is worth noting that Ethena gained attention from prominent crypto traders and investors like Arthur Hayes, sparking concerns and drawing comparisons to Terra (LUNA), which supports an algorithm stablecoin, as reported by Finbold in April.
In essence, Ethena is a protocol on Ethereum with a governance token, ENA, aiming to be the “internet bond” by offering a synthetic dollar, USDe, and “internet native yield.” However, the success or failure of Ethena remains uncertain, and investors engaging with USDe should carefully consider the associated risks before making any decisions.
Disclaimer: The content provided should not be construed as investment advice. Investment in the crypto market is speculative, and capital is at risk.
