The new pro-crypto turn in US politics is giving the industry strong tailwinds. However, with the Trump family’s involvement in multiple crypto ventures, critics are raising alarms over potential conflicts of interest. In that environment, it is no wonder that any timely trades raise suspicion.
On March 5, a crypto whale suspected by some to be a Trump insider withdrew $13.7 million in profits and changed his wallet name to Eric. While the move appeared to be a jest, the trade raised eyebrows due to its timing.
The whale bet $4 million in collateral on a DeFi platform Hyperliquid, taking a calculated gamble by opening a large $200 million position on Bitcoin and Ethereum. The high-risk bet came just before Trump’s U.S. Strategic Crypto Reserve announcement, which boosted Bitcoin by 10% and Ethereum by 12%.
For this reason, some suggested that the timing was too good to be coincidental. Moreover, a 2% price decline would have liquidated the trader, wiping out his $4 million collateral. Still, the wallet history shows that the whale is a very advanced DeFi user, making it unlikely that they are directly associated with anyone from the Trump family.
At the same time, online investigators revealed that the wallet may have been connected to phishing scams. Coinbase executive Conor Grogan claimed that the funds for the bet originated from phishing scams, where attackers masquerade as reputable entities to steal sensitive information.
For this reason, Grogan concluded that the whale was just a trader gambling with other people’s money who serendipitously timed his trades to coincide with favorable market conditions.
Eric Wasn’t First Whale to Raise Suspicion
This is not the first time the crypto community has questioned insider involvement around Donald Trump and crypto. Ahead of the election, one whale bet $30 million on Trump’s victory on the crypto betting platform Polymarket. As Trump’s chances were slim then, the bet netted the trader $85 million in profits.
Polymarket investigated the case and found no proof of insider involvement or market manipulation. Instead, the trader appeared to be a French millionaire. While he supported Donald Trump, he had no apparent connection to the United States President, his businesses, or the election.
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