Crypto Whales Bet Against XRP, DOGE, and PEPE Ahead of Powell’s Keynote
Major cryptocurrency holders are positioning for volatility as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell prepares to address economic policy.
The Big Short
Whale wallets accumulated significant short positions across three meme-driven assets—XRP, Dogecoin, and PEPE—in what appears to be a coordinated risk-off move before the Fed speech.Market Jitters
Traders are bracing for Powell's comments to trigger another round of regulatory uncertainty theater—because nothing says stable monetary policy like watching digital assets swing 20% on a single sentence. The timing suggests institutional players anticipate hawkish rhetoric that could pressure speculative crypto plays.Selective Targeting
Notably absent from the short list? Bitcoin and Ethereum—the crypto equivalents of 'too big to fail' according to Wall Street's latest narrative shift. The concentrated betting against these specific altcoins reveals where smart money sees the weakest hands.When the Fed talks, crypto trembles—proving once again that decentralized finance still dances to centralized banking's tune.
Whales have been shorting altcoin positions ahead of Jerome Powell’s speech on economic outlook | Source:
Lookonchain
Traders are bracing themselves for more market volatility that is expected to accompany Powell’s speech. According to on-chain analysis platform LookOnChain, several whales on Hyperliquid (HYPE) are heavily deploying short positions on the market.
The first whale, 0x9eec9, with $31.8 million in profit, currently holds short positions in DOGE (DOGE), ETH, Pepe (PEPE), XRP (XRP) and ASTER (ASTER) worth around $98 million combined.
The other whale, 0x9263, has about $13.2 million in profits on-chain. The whale currently holds short positions on Solana and Bitcoin, totaling to about $84 million. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin OG whale has further increased its BTC short position to $492 million with a floating profit of $9 million.
Why are whales shorting ahead of Powell’s economic outlook speech?
More often than not, market sentiment spawned by moves made by the Fed usually have a major impact on the crypto market. From Powell’s speech today, whales could be expecting caution on monetary policy, which could signal whether the agency will delay rate cuts or maintain high rates to combat inflation.
One post by Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur and podcast host Mario Nawfal warned traders of “volatility” arising after Powell’s speech on October 14. A “hawkish” tone may serve to tighten liquidity, raise borrowing costs and put increased downward pressure on alternative asset such as metals and cryptocurrency.
As concerns of a crypto market crash begin circulating around the crypto community, many have resorted to shorting positions as a way to hedge against the potential of an imminent crash. Shorting provides traders with an opportunity to still gain profit if the market turns bearish.
With heightened uncertainty surrounding the content and implications of Powell’s speech, these whales may be locking in gains to play it safe, reducing the risk of being caught on the wrong side of the market in the event of a crash.
