• ZachXBT has blasted the “Hyperliquid 50x leverage whale” as “a cybercriminal gambling with stolen funds.”
• The whale netted a $9 million profit despite efforts by crypto traders to liquidate the position.
• ZachXBT has previously unmasked bad actors and identified hackers, including those behind the Bybit hack in February 2025

On-chain investigator ZachXBT says the “Hyperliquid 50x leverage whale” that has attracted massive attention across X is “just a cybercriminal gambling with stolen funds.”

The on-chain sleuth’s comment came as the whale closed their high-leverage trading position, 50x, with a notable $9 million profit.

Despite efforts by crypto Twitter to marshal a liquidation for the Hyperliquid whale, the trader emerged unscathed – yet again.

Hyperliquid 50x whale a criminal – ZachXBT says

ZachXBT commented on this, revealing who the whale is and is not. He shared the investigative view via X:

“It’s funny watching CT speculate on the “Hyperliquid whale” when in reality it’s just a cybercriminal gambling with stolen funds.”

Replying to a user comment, ZachXBT noted that the criminal whale has no links to the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group. In February this year, the blockchain sleuth linked the $1.5 billion Bybit hack to the hacker group.

Some X users asked that ZachXBT names and shames the Hyperliquid whale. However, his response was:

“We’ll see, it’s just not enjoyable posting investigations on X/Twitter anymore.”

Crypto ‘hunted’ for the mysterious whale

For weeks, the crypto market has speculated on who the mysterious Hyperliquid whale may be. A hunt for their identity and efforts to drag them down surfaced.

This hunt for the trader who opened a short position worth about $450 million on Bitcoin (BTC) intensified on Tuesday.

Amid the rush to liquidate him, analysts pointed to the whale’s 40x and 50x shorting of BTC and ETH as massive. The reaction had most traders looking to wreck the whale’s position with a flurry of buying deals. In fact, according to Lookonchain, the whale had to deposit $5 million USDC “to increase margin and avoid liquidation.”

But the effort to wreck the whale ultimately failed.

This whale has closed all his positions and made a profit of $9.46M in just 8 days.https://t.co/EtI4kinRNE pic.twitter.com/TPxf6MIIqR

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 18, 2025

As well as th 50x short leveraged position on Ethereum (ETH), this whale also shorted Chainlink (LINK), opening a huge $31 million position with 10x leverage. The whale has also placed short bids on GMX.

While ZachXBT clarified this whale isn’t tied to North Korea, the incident highlights the challenge the crypto community faces amid bad actor incidents.

The issue of stolen funds making it back into circulation via decentralized finance protocols remains. It also points to the overall impact of massive leverage on the market, particularly when criminals tap into high-leverage trades to gamble stolen funds.

Although this particular whale’s identity may interest the broader ecosystem, the big question going forward is how does crypto reign in this potentially impactful scenario.

• A March 27 meeting is being considered for a committee hearing on the selection of incoming SEC chair Paul Atkins
• US President Donald Trump selected Atkins in December following his presidential election win
• Atkins previously served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 and 2008 under former President George W. Bush

The confirmation of Paul Atkins as the next US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair is being delayed due to the submission of paperwork.

That’s according to Eleanor Mueller, Semafor’s Congress reporter, who posted on X. She wrote:

“Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott is eyeing March 27 for a committee hearing on Trump’s nominee to chair the SEC, Paul Atkins, I’m told. As I wrote earlier this month, the committee has been waiting for the White House to send over his paperwork.”

Scooplet: Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott is eyeing March 27 for a committee hearing on Trump’s nominee to chair the SEC, Paul Atkins, I’m told.

As I wrote earlier this month, the committee has been waiting for the White House to send over his paperwork: https://t.co/2sDebKDIAI

— Eleanor Mueller (@Eleanor_Mueller) March 17, 2025

US President Donald Trump selected Atkins to be the next SEC chair in December. This is a significant selection for Trump, as Atkins is considered a pro-crypto figure in the industry. During his election, Trump promised to reshape the regulatory landscape for digital finance and clarify cryptocurrency rules.

Mueller continued that the Senate banking committee is also planning to hold a bipartisan meeting on  Friday, March 21, to discuss Atkins’ nomination.

Financial disclosure

This latest development follows from a March 3 report from Semafor. In it, Mueller detailed how the White House hadn’t produced the required paperwork to schedule a confirmation hearing for Atkins. This also included his financial disclosure given the fact that he married into a billionaire family.

In 1990, Atkins married Sarah Humphreys Atkins, whose family is linked to Tamko Building Products, a company that manufactures roofing shingles in the US. Last year, it made $1.2 billion in revenue, according to a December report from Forbes.

One former Senate Banking Committee member said: “It’s a lot to go through. But he got named so early on, so I think that’s why people are starting to be like, ‘What the hell’s taking so long?”

Atkins previously served as an SEC Commissioner between 2002 and 2008 under former President George W. Bush.

While the agency awaits the confirmation of Atkins, Mark Uyeda is the acting chair. In January, Uyeda created a new crypto task force designed to establish a clear regulatory framework for the industry.