Crypto Whale Bets Bearish Pre-Trump Event as ETH Rejects Key Level

Crypto markets showed mixed signals on April 2026 as traders reacted to a high-profile event hosted by Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. The gathering brought together crypto executives, investors, and public figures, while market participants positioned for potential volatility.

Ahead of the event, on-chain data revealed a large trader opening leveraged short positions across major assets. At the same time, Ethereum price faced resistance on higher timeframes despite short-term bullish momentum.

Whale Shorts the Market Moments Before Trump Crypto Conference

Whales approached the implications of Trump’s crypto conference differently, despite its assumed bullishness. They seemed to be acting on a “sell the news” approach.

For instance, a whale was shorting the crypto market with very high leverage on Hyperliquid. This behavior prompted some users to term it as a conviction bearing the size of capital deployed in these sales.

So far, the whale has opened a 12x leveraged short position of 359.57 BTC, valued at $27.95 million. This position was already sitting at a profit of $45K, with a liquidation price of $88.62K.

The whale also shorted 2.77K ETH with the same leverage as BTC with a position valued at $6.43 million. The liquidation price was $3,724, and the order had gained more than $3,033 at press time.

The whale’s last sale was 10x leveraged, with 140.26K HYPE valued at $5.841 million. The position was down over $77K, suggesting Hyperliquid’s HYPE was stronger than both BTC and ETH at the moment.

Ethereum Price Rejects Bull Market Support Band

Looking at Ethereum’s price action, the structural weakness was evident on the weekly chart. The altcoin rejected the bull market support band, which acted as resistance to its price action. It also failed at the 200-week MA, suggesting that the bigger picture remains bearish, at least for now.

This timeframe’s levels were critical enough to confirm the existing downtrend that has persisted since last year. Daan Crypto Trades argued that the Ethereum price needed to close above these two zones to continue with the current monthly uptrend.

To be specific, Ethereum needed to break and hold the $2,400–$2,500 zone for bulls to regain control. Until then, ETH price remained bearish. Hence, more caution and patience were advised.

Why All Is Not Lost for Ethereum

Despite the weekly chart suggesting a bearish outlook, Ethereum holders may still have hope. This is because Ethereum’s monthly returns showed the altcoin posted its best April since 2021, with 10% returns. In 2021, ETH surged more than 46%. This was the same for Bitcoin.

Moreover, analyst Ali Martinez noted the long consolidation period on the daily chart was coming to an end. This created an opportunity for a new uptrend as momentum was finally shifting to bulls. Ali Martinez reported that the SuperTrend indicator had flashed a buy signal for the first time since May last year.

Conclusion

Crypto markets entered a volatile phase ahead of a major industry event, with large traders positioning for potential downside. Ethereum price showed conflicting signals, with weekly resistance holding while daily momentum improved.

Whale short positions highlighted a defensive stance, reflecting uncertainty despite positive sentiment around the event. At the same time, Ethereum’s strong April performance indicated underlying demand.

Future price direction will depend on whether Ethereum can reclaim key resistance levels while maintaining short-term momentum.