In a noteworthy return to trading after two months, a major cryptocurrency investor, holding around $11 billion in Bitcoin, has opened nearly $900 million in short positions on Bitcoin and Ether, anticipating a drop in their prices despite a generally bullish outlook for October.

The investor executed a $360 million transfer of Bitcoin which caught the attention of market observers, as reported by Cointelegraph. Subsequently, they established a $600 million leveraged short position on Bitcoin and over $300 million in leveraged shorts on Ether, according to data from the blockchain analysis platform Onchain Lens.

These robust short positions indicate the investor’s belief in an impending correction in the market, although this strategy could be undermined if Bitcoin’s price surges above $133,760, which is noted as their liquidation threshold.

Bitcoin Whale Source: Onchain Lens

The investor also initiated a $330 million 12x leveraged short position on Ether, with a liquidation threshold set at $4,613 which was showing an unrealized profit of $2.6 million at the moment of reporting, as shared by Lookonchain.

Ether Whale Position Source: Lookonchain

These aggressive positionings may encourage additional large investors to bet against the leading cryptocurrencies.

In August, nine major addresses in the whale category purchased a total of $456 million worth of Ether, after the same investor swapped $5 billion of their Bitcoin holdings into ETH. Selling activities from previously passive Bitcoin whales were cited as a significant contributor limiting Bitcoin’s price movement, according to analyst Willy Woo.

Bitcoin correction driven by smaller investors, not whales

Bitcoin reached a new all-time high above $125,700 recently but has since dropped to trade around $121,350. Interestingly, most of the selling pressure came from smaller wallets rather than large investors, with reports showing sales like 603 Bitcoin from shrimp addresses, 2,260 BTC from crabs, and 3,860 BTC from fish addresses, as highlighted by blockchain insights platform CryptoQuant.

Selling Pressure Analysis Source: CryptoQuant

The classifications mentioned refer to retail investor addresses holding various amounts of Bitcoin.

Further data indicates that over 52% of Bitcoin holders across exchanges have chosen to take short positions, while 47% remain long on their investments, based on blockchain information from CoinAnk. About 51% of Ether traders also expect a decline in the cryptocurrency’s value.