ETH Falls Under $4K, Causing Significant $45M Hit to Whale Holdings

A major Ether (ETH $3,960) holder took a multi-million-dollar hit Thursday after the cryptocurrency dipped below $4,000 for the first time since August 8, amid a broader market sell-off driven by U.S. government shutdown fears.

The whale, linked to address 0xa523, had a leveraged bullish position of 9,152 ETH ($36.4 million) forcibly liquidated on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain. The liquidation pushed total losses above $45 million, leaving the whale with under $500,000.

Ether fell to a session low of $3,983 during Asian trading hours, with other major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC $109,396), also retreating amid concerns about a potential shutdown.

Data from Coinglass shows roughly $100 million in leveraged bets were liquidated during Asian trading, over $90 million of which were bullish positions. The concentration of leverage in long positions amplified the impact of Ether’s decline.