While crypto traders were enthusiastically watching their TRUMP tokens moon, one whale decided to cash out way too early – and paid dearly for it.
The anonymous trader dumped 630,000 TRUMP tokens for 5.48 million USDC, averaging $8.70 per token. Not bad, considering they’d bought in at $7.93. A quick $483,000 profit. Too bad timing isn’t their strong suit.
Just five hours later, a Trump dinner announcement sent the token price skyrocketing. The whale, probably kicking themselves, scrambled to buy back in at nearly double their exit price. Talk about an expensive lesson in patience. Their paper gains turned into a brutal $3.8 million loss.
The whale’s hasty exit triggered a massive 50% drawdown, sending TRUMP plummeting from $72 to the $40 range. But here’s the kicker – the market bounced back stronger than ever, riding Bitcoin’s surge to new all-time highs. The announcement of sweeping tariff policies by President Trump during his second term only added to the market’s volatility. The rapid price swings exemplified typical bear market duration patterns seen in crypto, lasting approximately 10 months.
This wasn’t just any random trade. The whale had carefully withdrawn 10 million USDC from Binance, split between two wallets, specifically to load up on TRUMP tokens. They’d been methodically scaling their position as the Trump dinner date approached. After selling, their wallets still held 10.48 million USDC.
But they weren’t alone in their misfortune. Another whale took an even bigger hit, dumping their entire position for a staggering $24.4 million loss during the crash. By February 2025, TRUMP was trading at $13.06, down 82% from its January peak.
The whole episode raised eyebrows about potential market manipulation. Some traders showed suspiciously sophisticated behavior, with one address splitting holdings across multiple wallets before major selling activity. Bubblemaps even flagged unusual whale movements affecting the token’s price.
All this drama played out against a backdrop of broader market turmoil, with the S&P 500 down 12.46% since November 2024. Sometimes in crypto, the biggest whales make the biggest splashes – and the biggest mistakes.
