Whale shorts ZEC six times, losing over 500,000, so why is it still holding on?

On January 6th, on-chain data once again triggered market nerves. According to Hyperinsight monitoring, the whale address that claims to be “steadfastly shorting ZEC” closed a short position of $3.25 million opened 17 days ago, which resulted in a loss of $293,000. Even more heartbreaking is that this is the sixth time this address has shorted ZEC, and it has never gone long, with total losses exceeding $215,000. Why does one whale address keep repeating the same losing story? What does this reflect?

The Cost of Obsessively Shorting

Whale’s Shorting Record

This address’s trading history reads like a blood-stained saga of “steadfast shorting.” Six shorts, zero longs—such extreme one-sided operations reveal underlying issues.

What does this data tell us? It’s a whale address stubbornly sticking to a wrong direction. No matter how ZEC rises, it refuses to change its stance or adjust its strategy, repeatedly betting on shorting. This isn’t conviction; it’s obsession.

Why ZEC Disappoints Short Sellers

Looking at ZEC’s recent performance makes this clear. According to the latest data, ZEC’s current price is $508.38, with a 48.45% increase over the past 30 days, and an 861% rise for 2025 so far. What does this mean? Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap, ZEC’s annual gain ranks among the top.

This whale’s short position was opened 17 days ago, when ZEC was around $420. What happened next? In 17 days, ZEC rose from $420 to $508, an increase of over 20%. Short sellers were forced to close at a loss, incurring a $293,000 loss.

Why Continue Shorting?

There may be several reasons:

• Misjudgment of the trend: The whale might have fundamentally misjudged the direction of the market, but after significant prior losses, it may have developed a “recoup” mentality, leading to repeated shorting.
• Lack of risk management: Six consecutive losses suggest no effective stop-loss mechanism or poorly set stop-loss levels.
• Market sentiment reversal: The 861% increase in 2025 indicates a fundamental shift in market attitude toward ZEC, which this address failed to follow.

Signals from the Market

This whale’s failure actually teaches us a simple truth:

Obsessing over a single direction ultimately leads to continuous losses. The market is dynamic; trends change, sentiment shifts. When you find yourself losing five times in a row and still betting on the sixth, the problem isn’t the market—it’s yourself.

The 861% increase in ZEC from early 2025 until now is a market voice. Those insisting on shorting are essentially fighting against the mainstream trend.

Conclusion

The story of this whale address reminds us that in crypto markets, persistence isn’t always a virtue. Sometimes, changing course, admitting mistakes, and adjusting strategies promptly are more rational choices. Six shorts and over $50 million in losses already tell the story. Continuing to resist only enlarges the losses. The market trend is clear, and ZEC’s strong performance has already demonstrated what the right direction looks like. For traders, learning to abandon a wrong idea can sometimes require more courage than sticking to it.