Whale adds 57.32 million USD worth of ETH short positions, but unrealized losses are offset by funding fees, as market bullish and bearish sentiments grow more divided.

On-Chain Monitoring Data Shows that a whale has significantly increased its Ethereum short positions within the past half hour, accumulating a total of 18,875.18 ETH worth $57.32 million. Although this operation currently results in an unrealized loss of $476,000, it has earned $537,000 through funding fee income, maintaining overall profitability. This move coincides precisely with ETH’s price hovering around the $3,000 mark and the market showing serious disagreement between bullish and bearish sentiments.

Cost and Profit of the Whale’s Short Positions

Key Position Data

Profit Structure Analysis

This case reveals an interesting trading phenomenon: although the short position is at a loss in terms of price, it has achieved overall profit through funding fee income. Based on calculations, the whale’s funding fee income ($537,000) exceeds the unrealized loss ($476,000) by about $61,000, indicating that it is profiting from the market’s bullish sentiment while bearing price risk.

This reflects that current market short sellers are being compensated through funding fees, which often occurs when market bullish sentiment is overheated and financing rates rise.

A Microcosm of Market Bull-Bear Divergence

This position increase in shorts contrasts sharply with recent long positions by other major players. According to the latest news, crypto fund manager Tom Lee recently bought 32,938 ETH worth $97.6 million and staked 118,944 ETH. Meanwhile, another major player, Arthur Hayes, has been adjusting his positions, recently increasing holdings in DeFi tokens.

These actions indicate:

• Bullish large holders are still accumulating on dips, even locking in long-term staking
• Short whales are increasing positions at high levels, attempting to profit from downward price movements
• There is a clear market disagreement around the $3,000 ETH level

Market Context and Risk Reminder

According to related data, ETH has performed steadily since the beginning of 2026, rising 1.71% in the past 24 hours and 2.25% over the past 7 days. However, based on liquidation data, if ETH falls below $2,900, the total liquidation of long positions on major CEXs could reach $850 million, indicating certain risks for short operations.

Conversely, if ETH breaks above $3,050, the liquidation of shorts could reach $950 million, which would also exert pressure on this increased short position held by the whale.

Summary

Although this $57.32 million ETH short position increase currently results in an unrealized loss, it has achieved overall profit through funding fee income, reflecting the current market’s bullish dominance. However, compared to other major players’ long positions, this short position clearly bets on ETH’s correction around the $3,000 level. The market at the start of 2026 shows a significant divergence between bulls and bears; whether ETH can break above $3,050 or fall below $2,900 will be crucial in determining the outcome for these large traders.