A cryptocurrency trader is up over $1.1 million on an Ether position within two days after strategically positioning for the current crypto market correction.

A savvy crypto trader generated over $1.1 million worth of profit on his Ether ( ETH ) short position, which involves “borrowing” the underlying cryptocurrency from a broker, selling it at the current price, and then repurchasing it once the price falls — a strategy used by traders to bet on the price decline of an asset.

The trader opened the 50x leveraged short position when Ether was trading at $3,428, shorting a total of 19,186 Ether worth over $64.5 million as of 10:56 am in UTC on Dec. 26, according to blockchain data from Hypurrscan.

Ethereum shorter gains $1.1M on 50X leverage in 2 days image 0

Wallet ‘0x20c’ 50x leveraged ETH short. Source: hypurrscan

Beyond the $1.1 million unrealized profit, the trader also earned over $680,000 worth of funding fees on his short position , which has a liquidation price of above $4,750.

The trader opened the short position on Dec. 24, which was initially down over $1.2 million during the first day, wrote onchain intelligence firm Lookonchian in a Dec. 24 X post .

While leveraged trading can potentially increase returns, it can significantly amplify downside risks and lead to the loss of the initial investment.

Ethereum shorter gains $1.1M on 50X leverage in 2 days image 1

Leveraged trading loss Source: Tarded Degen Gambler

In January 2024, a pseudonymous trader lost over $161,000 worth of funds in a single trade after being liquidated on a leveraged position, illustrating the risks of leveraged trading.

Related: Redemption arcs of 2024: Ripple’s victory, memecoins’ rise, RWA growth

Crypto traders win big in 2024 with million-dollar trades

Capitalizing on increasing crypto valuations, some traders won big in 2024 amid Bitcoin’s ( BTC ) historic climb to the $100,000 milestone, which it surpassed on Dec. 6 for the first time in crypto history .

On Dec. 14, an unknown memecoin trader turned a $27 investment into an extraordinary $52 million profit , generating an over 1.9-million-fold return on investment on the Pepe ( PEPE ) memecoin.

However, it took this trader 600 days of patient holding to realize the immense memecoin profit, as Pepe was soaring to new record highs.

Related: South Korea sanctions 15 North Koreans for crypto heists and cyber theft

Back in May, another unknown trader capitalized on Pepe’s price gains, netting over $46 million worth of profit after generating an eye-watering 15,718-fold return on his initial $3,000 investment. 

Ethereum shorter gains $1.1M on 50X leverage in 2 days image 2

Savvy Pepe trader transactions. Source: Lookonchain

Other traders have been capitalizing on newly created meme tokens, like the Just a Chill Guy (CHILLGUY) memecoin, which helped a trader turn a $160 investment into $5.6 million , Cointelegraph reported on Nov. 27.

Eric Trump Explains How His Dad Could Propel BTC to $1M. Source: YouTube

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