Key Takeaways
The Hyperliquid whale is defending against allegations by ZachXBT of using illicit funds.
ZachXBT plans to release further evidence detailing the origins of the trader’s funds.
An infamous trader known as the ‘Hyperliquid whale’ has publicly defended himself against cybercrime allegations made by on-chain investigator ZachXBT.
ZachXBT on Tuesday accused the crypto whale, now operating under the X handle @qwatio and using the name MELANIA, of cybercriminal activity.
The claim came after the trader opened a massive $445 million short position on Bitcoin using 40x leverage, betting on a price decline. This position drew market attention and led to an attempted “short squeeze” by other traders, which ultimately failed.
The crypto whale avoided liquidation despite being aggressively “hunted” and closed the position with over $9 million in profit on Tuesday.
ZachXBT reported that while the community was intrigued by the so-called ‘Hyperliquid whale’, this individual was merely gambling with illicit funds.
The analyst did not reveal the trader’s identity at the time but confirmed there was no connection to the Lazarus Group.
On Wednesday, the Hyperliquid whale took to X to deny these accusations. The trader directly confronted ZachXBT’s claims that he was using stolen funds for high-leverage trades.
“RE: Baseless speculations,” the trader stated, challenging ZachXBT to specify which stolen funds were in question, noting his wallet received thousands of transactions from various dubious sources.
In response, ZachXBT said that he will release detailed evidence at 1 PM UTC tomorrow.
The investigator also shared preliminary evidence indicating that Hyperliquid whale’s X account was recently acquired.
ZachXBT showed some hints suggesting that the trader’s wallet received funds from victims of wallet-draining malware in January 2025.
The wallet also received funds from potentially illicit sources, such as shady exchanges and online casinos, which are often associated with money laundering, according to ZachXBT’s findings.
The infamous trader also opened a 5x leveraged long position on the MELANIA token, and still holds this position, according to Hypurrscandata.