A significant Bitcoin whale has liquidated over half a billion in short positions, betting on a potential decline in Bitcoin prices ahead of the highly anticipated Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for this week.
The large crypto investor, often referred to as a whale, secured nearly $10 million in profit by closing a 40x leverage short position involving 6,210 Bitcoin BTCUSD — valued at over $516 million — effectively placing a bet on the fall of Bitcoin’s price.
Leveraged positions involve borrowing funds to amplify the size of an investment, which can magnify both potential gains and losses, making such trading riskier than regular investment approaches.
This astute whale managed to close all short positions within a few hours, earning a profit of $9.46 million from Bitcoin’s decline, as reported by Hypurrscan data.
The whale initiated a $368 million position at $84,043 and risked liquidation if Bitcoin’s price rose above $85,592.
Despite needing to add $5 million to his short position after a group of traders attempted to “hunt” for his liquidation point—an endeavor that ultimately failed—the whale secured a profit, noted Lookonchain in a March 17 post on X.
Following the closure of his Bitcoin shorts, the whale began to accumulate Ether 
ETHUSD, purchasing over 3,200 Ether for more than $6.1 million at 7:31 am UTC on March 18, according to Etherscan data.
This profit-taking occurred just a day before the upcoming FOMC meeting on March 19, which is expected to provide the market with further insights into the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy direction for 2025, possibly influencing investor interest in risk assets like Bitcoin.
Analysts suggest Bitcoin could see a positive shift amid easing inflation worries
Concerns regarding inflation are beginning to temper following the release of February’s US Consumer Price Index (CPI), which reported an unexpected year-on-year increase of 2.8%, slightly below the anticipated 2.9%.
This easing in inflation concerns may bode well for the approaching FOMC meeting, as per Fumihiro Arasawa, co-founder and CEO of xWIN Research.
The lower CPI figures could also present a favorable outlook for Bitcoin’s future trajectory, the CEO mentioned to Cointelegraph, adding:
“This suggests that inflationary pressures are slowly subsiding, which could impact the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions.”
“Bitcoin’s short-term price movement will hinge on its ability to maintain the $81,000 support level. Sustaining this level might stabilize market sentiment, whereas a breakdown could lead to further corrections,” Arasawa stated.
Currently, markets are forecasting a 99% likelihood that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged, as indicated by the latest projections from the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
“The market largely anticipates the Fed will maintain current rates, but any unexpected hawkish indications could exert pressure on Bitcoin and other risk assets,” stated Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, in a conversation with Cointelegraph.
