Trader Loses $250 Million as ETH Liquidation Wave Hits Crypto Markets

The scale of January 31, 2026’s liquidation event on Hyperliquid has grown even larger following new on-chain disclosures.

According to data published by Arkham, the so-called “Hyperunit whale,” linked to Garrett Jin, has now fully exited his entire Ethereum position, realizing a total loss of approximately $250 million.

Arkham data shows that after the forced liquidation and subsequent unwind, only $53 remains in the trader’s Hyperliquid account, confirming a near-total capital wipeout rather than a partial drawdown.

From Forced Liquidation to Full Exit

Initial reports indicated that a large ETH long position was forcibly liquidated as Ethereum dropped nearly 17% in 24 hours, falling through key support levels to roughly $2,360. The liquidation alone accounted for more than $222 millionin losses.

Arkham’s follow-up analysis clarifies that the trader did not recover or reallocate capital after the liquidation. Instead, the remaining ETH exposure was fully sold, locking in the complete loss. This confirms the event as one of the largest single-trader realized losses in crypto market history.

A Deleveraging Event of Historic Scale

The Hyperliquid wipeout occurred during a broader market deleveraging wave that pushed total crypto liquidations beyond $2.5 billion in a single day.

• Ethereum liquidations: Over $1.15 billion across all exchanges

• Bitcoin liquidations: Approximately $788 million, as price fell below $76,000

• Exchange breakdown:

  • Hyperliquid: largest single-trade loss

  • Bybit: ~$574.8 million

  • Binance: ~$258 million

The episode was driven by a combination of thin liquidity, elevated leverage, and macro risk-off pressure, rather than any isolated platform failure.

Structural Risk, Not Bad Timing

What makes this event notable is not just the size of the loss, but the mechanics behind it. Liquidations execute as market orders, meaning once margin thresholds are breached, selling pressure becomes self-reinforcing. As derivatives markets decoupled from spot, ETH funding rates flipped sharply negative, accelerating the unwind.

The fact that the trader ended with virtually zero remaining capital highlights a core structural risk of highly leveraged trading: when volatility spikes, there is no opportunity to reassess or recover.

Conclusion

The confirmation that the Hyperunit whale fully exited his ETH position with a $250 million realized loss underscores the severity of the January 2026 deleveraging event. It was not merely a sharp correction, but a capital-destroying unwind driven by leverage, liquidity constraints, and forced execution mechanics.

In environments like this, the primary risk is not directional error, it is being structurally unable to survive volatility.

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