Crypto whale holding oil shorts walks away with $2 million in profit

A crypto whale walked away with a huge profit early Wednesday after U.S.-Iran ceasefire news sent oil prices crashing.

The trader "Loracle" had shorted $5 million in crude oil perpetual futures on Hyperliquid last week. As oil prices cratered over 15% below $100 per barrel early Wednesday, Loracle squared off the bearish bet, pocketing $2 million, per Arkham Intelligence.

Loracle's crypto holdings, comprising USDT, USDC, ETH, and others, total over $8 million as of this writing.

This shows how traditional markets on decentralized platforms like Hyperliquid are helping crypto traders mint fortunes akin to the memecoin mania of 2020-21 that created degen millionaires.

The recent war has established established Hyperliquid as a go-to platform for crypto traders to bet on traditional assets, especially on weekends when legacy markets are closed.

Hyperliquid's latest activity figures make it clear: WTI crude oil perpetual futures racked up $2.45 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours, outpacing perpetuals tied to ether (ETH), the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market value. Bitcoin BTC$71,689.42 holds the top spot, while Brent oil sits fourth with $1.3 billion in volume.