Ethereum Whale Opens $100M Short Undeterred by Buterin’s Vow to ‘Sell Less ETH’
As Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin promised a few token sales through the Ethereum Foundation, one crypto-well opened a short position of Ether (ETH) worth more than $100 million.
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When the price of ETH returns to short liquidity levels, the whale could face losses of more than $1 million. Buterin dropped more than 60,000 ETH earlier this year, but the Ethereum Foundation said “less ETH will be sold.”
ETH whale will face losses that can reach more than 1 million dollars
As of Monday, the wallet ‘0x50b…' held a short position of 47,600 ETH worth about $100.72 million, according to Hyperscan data. The trade leveraged 23x cross-border leverage with an entry price of approximately $2,094.92.
ETH was trading around $2,115, leaving the position with an embarrassing loss of $994,000. The trader paid about $2,145 in funding, which included the cost of hedging the bear bet.
Ethereum whale short position information. Source: Hypurscan.IO
The liquid price of the position was set at $2,150, leaving little room for error. A modest move in ETH could push the higher whale's losses above $1 million and wipe out the short.
That puts the whale in a vulnerable position if Ethereum continues to rise from its weekend lows to $2,000, especially if global risk sentiment improves due to signs of easing tensions between the US and Iran.
RELATED: Ethereum Traders Warn ‘Ominous' ETH Price Will Drop If $2K Support Is Breached
Still, the trading volume shows that some big traders remain willing to bet heavily on ETH despite recent efforts by Ethereum's biggest names to calm market concerns.
Ethereum Foundation “to sell less ETH”, says Vitalik Buterin
Co-founder Vitalik Buterin has promised that the Ethereum Foundation will “sell some ETH” as part of a broader effort to make the organization leaner, more focused and long-lasting.
Commitment appeared in X's long post as Buterin defended the foundation's direction after the researcher's departure.
EF is opting for “longevity over breadth”, which means it will reduce costs, narrow its mission and avoid working like Ethereum's centralized command structure.
The Ethereum Foundation has faced repeated backlash over token sales, with critics arguing that continued sales could put pressure on ETH in weak market conditions.
The foundation has raised more than $45 million by selling 20,000 ETH in 2026, according to data source Arkham Intelligence. It still holds about 103,000 ETH in liquid treasury assets and another 70,000 ETH is held in shares.
Ethereum Foundation ETH balance. Source: Arkham Intelligence
However, Buterin's confirmation comes as institutional judgment in Ethereum continues to weaken.
In the year In 2026, several large holders trimmed their ETH exposure amid weak price action and bitcoin's opposite multi-year decline.
Harvard Management Company has reportedly exited its $87 million Ethereum ETF position after one quarter, while Goldman Sachs cut its ETH ETF holdings by 70% and invested about $114 million.
Spot Ethereum ETFs continue to infuse capital with net inflows of more than $295 million in May and withdrawals of more than $945 million in 2026.
ETH US spot ETF net flows. Source: Glassnode
Bankless co-founder David Hoffman, one of Ethereum's longtime advocates, said he sold all of his personal ETH holdings, adding symbolic weight to concerns that even native Ethereum investors are reassessing their convictions.
Source: X
However, some analysts, including Tanaka, continue to view Ethereum as a strong long-term buy, arguing that the on-chain economy is difficult to match for rival blockchains.
Ethereum still accounts for the majority of real crypto activity, with nearly $43 billion in DeFi liquidity, more than $165 billion in stablecoins, and 55% of tokenized assets tracked on public blockchains, according to Token Terminal data.
