OG whale who lost $250M last week is already buying ETH again – Here’s why

Just five days ago, the market watched as one of crypto’s most famous whales, who once made $190 million shorting the Trump tariff crash, saw his fortune collapse to just $53.

A massive $250 million liquidation on Hyperliquid wiped him out almost overnight.

Many thought he was finished. But, no!

OG whale is buying ETH again

In fact, new on-chain data revealed that the same trader might be back at press time, betting big again.

The whale has already withdrawn 80,000 Ethereum [ETH] (Worth about $168 million) from Binance [BNB], signaling strong confidence in Ethereum’s next move. This withdrawal, made on 05 February 2026, marks a major change in strategy. Instead of using extreme leverage like before, which led to his huge loss, the whale is now focusing on spot accumulation.

Simply put, after losing everything, he’s re-entering the market. This time, with a long-term bet on Ethereum’s recovery.

By removing $168 million worth of Ethereum from the market, the whale is shrinking the available supply. If others follow, this could create a supply squeeze and push the altcoin’s price higher.

Traders don’t move 80,000 ETH to private wallets for short-term trades. This could be a sign that the whale believes the $2,000–$2,100 range may be a major market bottom.

Signs of a possible reversal

At the time of writing, ETH was valued at $2060.87 after a drop of 8.04% in the last 24 hours.

On the technical front, while MACD pointed to weakness, the RSI had fallen into oversold territory. Such a finding is often evidence of a potential trend reversal.

Source: TradingView

Active addresses have also been declining, but that alone isn’t a reason to panic.

Source: Glassnode

In the current 2026 market, whale behavior, especially large withdrawals from exchanges, is a much stronger signal of future price movement than the number of active addresses. Right now, address data is distorted by post-upgrade spam and low-quality transactions, making it less reliable.

Hence, Ethereum is caught in a tough battle between sellers and buyers now. Firms like Trend Research and Garrett Jin have been forced to sell large amounts of ETH, worth about $738 million, just to cover losses and repay loans.

Additionally, OTC markets revealed that buyers picked up 33,000 ETH in a single day, and DBS-linked wallets added another 25,000 ETH this week.

All these movements, along with technical indicators, may be indicative that the market may be preparing for a reversal.

Final Thoughts

• Large private wallet transfers suggest that major players see the $2,000–$2,100 range as a potential long-term bottom.
• Whale movements are currently more reliable indicators of market sentiment than short-term network activity.