1011 short-selling whale returns with $70M USDC after ETH deposit to Aave

The insider whale that shorted the market just before the October 11 liquidations is back with new moves. The whale deposited ETH to Aave to borrow more stablecoins. 

One of the high-profile whales, known as the 1011 seller, opened a new ETH-based strategy. This time, the whale used the Aave lending protocol to tap the value of ETH. The whale deposited 55,240 ETH on Aave, borrowing $50M USDT and another tranche of $20M in USDT. 

The whale used two known wallets, with one address unstaking and providing 20M USDT. On another address, the whale holds over 70K wrapped ETH on Aave. The whale has significant exposure to ETH, despite previous episodes of shorting the token. 

The stablecoins were then sent to Binance in two transactions. For the OG whale, this ETH transfer is the first wallet activity in three months. In the meantime, the whale mostly held BTC positions, switching to long bets on Hyperliquid in the short term. 

Just after the activities of the 1011 whale, a new wallet was created, withdrawing 42K ETH from Binance. At this point, it remains uncertain if the wallets are in any way connected. 

October 11 whale may be preparing to buy ETH at a lower price

The recent activity on Ethereum has raised speculations that the whale, identified as Garrett Jin, will use the borrowed funds to accumulate more ETH or other assets. The whale is known as a market indicator for a potential shift in sentiment, and has so far moved in at pivotal moments. 

As of December 1, the whale did not hold any positions on Hyperliquid. The whale is currently holding $176M in assets, mostly in USDT and wrapped ETH on Aave. 

The 1011 whale was also active earlier in November. However, as of November 12, the whale closed all ETH long positions, achieving $2.85M in profit.

The whale has not shown long-term conviction on ETH, but has exploited market recoveries. The current borrowing means the whale may be prepared to buy any local lows, or a market bottom in the near term.

The whale has also posted ETH for staking, showing at least a partial allocation to long-term bullish expectations from Ethereum. The 1011 whale deposited ETH along with several other wallets, all choosing the same staking smart contract from their selected staking pool.

During the latest market downturn, Aave decreased its TVL to $31B, due to the lower price of ETH. Just as the high-profile whale moved in, ETH was back in the $2,800 range, following a recent downturn. 

Can ETH recover to a higher range? 

ETH showed some signs of reversal in the past days, including renewed buying from whales. However, the token once again fell after a series of long liquidations. 

ETH open interest continued to slide to 31 points, indicating deepening fear. During low sentiment positions, ETH may see renewed buying interest, as whales rotate their positions for a lower average price. 

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