- An on-chain trader dubbed the “Anti-CZ Whale” earned nearly $100 million shorting Aster following a cautionary tweet from Changpeng Zhao.
- Aster’s price dropped 14% from $1.16 to $0.83 as the market reacted to CZ’s self-deprecating comment about his buying timing.
- The trader has since shifted strategy, opening a massive $109 million long position in Ethereum despite the recent volatility.
An on-chain trader nicknamed the “Anti-CZ Whale” has recorded multimillion-dollar profits after Aster’s decline following remarks from Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ).
Blockchain data from Lookonchain and Hyperdash indicates the trader held coordinated short positions on Aster, Dogecoin, and other assets. These positions increased significantly in value as Aster’s price fell 14% over the past week.
Related: CZ’s ‘I Buy Tops’ Reminder Lands As Aster Sinks 14% To $0.90 Support
CZ’s Comment Spurs Market Reassessment
Zhao posted on his X account, noting that his crypto purchases “always go down,” a self-deprecating reminder about market risk that traders interpreted as a warning. The post, referencing previous cycles where even strong assets dropped after major buys, coincided with a broad cooldown across altcoins.
Aster’s market response was immediate, the token fell below the $1 mark, forming a sequence of lower highs and lower lows before rebounding.
Related: CZ’s $2M Aster Purchase Triggers 30% Price Spike and Frenzied Trading
This pullback aligned with renewed activity from the Anti-CZ Whale. Reports indicate the trader added to their Aster short positions shortly after CZ’s post. The token subsequently dropped from $1.16 to $0.83. During this slide, the trader’s short exposure expanded to $59.7 million. This generated $4.95 million in profit in a single account and over $16 million across multiple associated wallets.
Whale Secures $100 Million in Cross-Asset Profits
According to Lookonchain data, the trader’s total equity increased to above $75.6 million, with unrealized gains exceeding $31.27 million and a 142% return on equity. The combined profit and loss (PnL) across all active trades, shorts in Aster, Dogecoin, XRP, and kPEPE, reached $64.47 million. Additionally, a smaller account recorded $25.3 million in equity and $9.05 million in unrealized profits, which amounts to a 124.5% gain.
Shifting Strategy: The $109 Million Ethereum Long
Despite the bearish setup, the trader recently opened a long position in Ethereum worth $109 million, hinting at a shift in strategy. The position delivered $2.4 million in profits, which pushed cumulative earnings to nearly $100 million across platforms.
Aster recovers but remains volatile
Aster has seen a slight recovery but remains volatile. As of press time, CoinMarketCap data shows Aster trading at $1.01, having recovered by 10.08% over the last 24 hours after a weekly decline of 6.41%. Market capitalization rose to $2.05 billion, with trading volume up 18.7% to $1.62 billion.
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