A trader opened a high-risk short bet on Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) late Sunday, with liquidation looming just a hair’s breadth away.

Daring Bet Or Something More?

The trader opened a 25x leveraged short position on ETH on the decentralized perpetual trading platform Hyperliquid at an entry price of $2,209.38, reported Lookonchain.

As of this writing, the position stands at 40,000 ETH, equivalent to $109.9 million, with an unrealized profit of $188,503. Should ETH increase to $2,218, which is a mere $9 away from the current price, the entire position will be wiped out.

The perp trader endured a roller-coaster last week, watching their account balance fall from a peak of $1.23 million to $545,584 today. Overall, they were down $203,591 on their bets.

Will ETH Fall Further?

The high-stakes gamble comes as ETH slipped amid escalating geopolitical tensions. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will move to block ship traffic tied to Iran in and out of the Strait of Hormuz after the peace talks over the weekend ended without an agreement.

More than $33 million was liquidated from Ethereum’s derivatives market in the last 24 hours, with long positions alone accounting for $25 million, according to Coinglass.

The Long/Short ratio dipped below 1, suggesting that the majority of traders were gunning for ETH’s price decline.

Price Action: At the time of writing, ETH was exchanging hands at $2,182.84, down 1.45% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Benzinga Note: Leverage trading allows cryptocurrency traders to open larger positions using borrowed capital. While it can potentially amplify profits, it also significantly increases the risk of substantial losses due to the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies.

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