Funding rate becomes a money tree! A trader shorted Bitcoin for two months and made a profit of 12.5 million USD, earning 9.6 million USD just from funding fees.

While multiple whale traders continue to attempt to buy the dip and go long on Bitcoin, a mysterious whale is going against the trend by stubbornly shorting: holding a short position for two months, not only profiting from the price decline but also earning an easy $9.6 million from the funding rate of perpetual contracts.
(Background: 2025 Whale in Distress: Mansion Kidnapping, Supply Chain Poisoning, and Liquidation of Hundreds of Millions of Dollars)
(Additional context: “Bitcoin OG Insider Whale” increases ETH long positions, reduces BTC holdings, on-chain assets still exceed $5.7 billion)

In the persistently sluggish crypto market, a trader 0x5d2 has attracted market attention with a steadfast short strategy. According to the latest data disclosed by blockchain intelligence platform Arkham Intelligence, this trader has opened a BTC short position worth approximately $63.6 million since late October 2025 and has held it until now. As of December 24, 2025, the realized and unrealized profit from this short has reached $12.5 million.

This whale profits $12.5 million from shorting Bitcoin

Trader 0x5d2, with a position held for 2 months, has achieved a total realized and unrealized profit and loss of $12.5 million. He started shorting $63.6 million worth of BTC at the end of October and has held it until now.

Due to the long holding period, the funding rate income alone from this trade has reached $9.6 million. Additionally, he also holds BTCB worth about $3.5 million on BNB Chain… pic.twitter.com/fFNxI1HbzR

— Arkham ZH (@arkm_zh) December 24, 2025

At the same time, what’s even more noteworthy is that, due to the extremely long holding period, this trade has accumulated up to $9.6 million in earnings solely from the funding rate of perpetual contracts.

The funding rate mechanism of perpetual contracts requires the long side to pay the short side when market sentiment is strongly bullish, to keep the contract price close to the spot price. It is precisely because the funding rate remains positive over the long term that 0x5d2, as a long-term short, can steadily earn “passive income.”

However, it is worth noting that this trader also holds about $3.5 million worth of BTCB (a token pegged to Bitcoin) on BNB Chain, indicating that his position is not entirely naked short and may involve some hedging considerations.