Chasing XMR to a new high from the historical peak to a million-dollar loss: Whale's leverage nightmare in 2 days

A certain whale was chasing longs at a high level of XMR but encountered a nightmare within just two days. On January 17, according to on-chain monitoring, the whale address 0xf35 closed its 2x leveraged XMR long position, incurring a loss of $896,000. Behind this is the rapid retracement of XMR from its all-time high to the current level, illustrating the risks of high leverage trading.

The Whale’s High-Price Chase

Timeline review

According to the latest news, this whale’s trading path is clearly visible:

• January 15, 12:46: The whale deposits 2.27 million USDC into HyperLiquid, going long on XMR with 2x leverage, with the position still increasing at that time.
• January 17: The whale closes all long positions, with a loss of $896,000.

In just two days, from adding to the position to cutting losses, what did this whale step on?

XMR’s Rollercoaster Market

The key lies in XMR’s price movement. Based on relevant data:

This is a shocking retracement. Looking at the longer term, XMR’s market has indeed been hot: up 38.13% in 7 days, 47.10% in 30 days, and up 221.4% since the beginning of the year. But such rapid increases are often accompanied by swift retracements.

Why Did the Losses Reach So Much?

Leverage Amplifies Retracement Damage

2x leverage may sound modest, but a 20% retracement can cause a 40% loss of principal. This whale invested 2.27 million USDC, and with 2x leverage, the actual trading size was around $4.5 million. When XMR retraced 20% from its high, the leverage position’s loss naturally reached the $896,000 figure.

Market Divergence Is Clear

Interestingly, there was an opposite operation in the market at the same time. According to relevant info, on January 16, another whale deposited 3 million USDC into HyperLiquid, but was shorting XMR (5x leverage) and ETH (25x leverage). This indicates that during XMR’s rise, the bears never gave up, and market long-short divergence was quite intense.

What Does This Event Reflect?

The Trap of Chasing Highs in Popular Coins

Recently, XMR has regained attention due to its privacy coin narrative, and its frequent appearance on the gainers list attracts a lot of funds chasing highs. But the gainers list is often a “graveyard for shorts”—once emotions are ignited, chasing high becomes the easiest target for liquidation. This whale’s operation was essentially jumping in at the FOMO peak.

The Double-Edged Sword of Leverage

2x leverage may seem conservative, but it remains fragile in extreme volatility. Moreover, when the market retraces from a historical high, it often triggers a chain reaction of stop-loss orders, accelerating the decline. The whale’s liquidation may have been driven by this wave of stop-loss liquidations.

Summary

There are several points worth noting: First, although XMR’s rise has been impressive, a 20% retracement from its all-time high is also very rapid, indicating intense market sentiment swings; second, even whales can get caught chasing highs—losing $896,000 is a heavy price; finally, the clear long-short divergence in the market often signals the risk of large fluctuations. For ordinary investors, chasing highs on the gainers list is always a high-risk operation, and risk management is more important than pursuing returns.