Bitcoin and Ethereum rose after US President Donald Trump confirmed a meeting with China’s leader during the APEC summit on October 31. Based on reports, Bitcoin climbed nearly 4% while Ethereum gained about 5% and traded around $4,030. The whole market added roughly $100 billion in value in a short window, according to market watchers.
Insider Whale Bets And Mixed Positions
Reports have disclosed that an insider whale opened $255 million in long positions across Bitcoin and Ethereum. At the same time, the same trader put on a $76 million short on Bitcoin with 10x leverage.
The moves look like a bet on swings in price rather than a single directional stake. Observers note the trader has a history of large, well-timed trades, including a prior $730 million short that paid off. There is no clear public ID for this whale, and the motives are being examined by analysts.
Insider Bitcoin whale is back.
He just opened a $76,195,977 $BTC short position with 10x leverage.
Does he know something? pic.twitter.com/K4ldvQE1TN
— Ted (@TedPillows) October 19, 2025
Political Shift Sends Prices Higher
Based on reports, comments by US President Donald Trump helped calm markets. He reportedly said “it will all be fine” when speaking about China’s economy, and the tone toward Beijing softened after a week where he had announced a 100% tariff on Chinese goods.
That tariff claim had sparked a big sell-off across traditional and crypto markets just days earlier. Market players reacted quickly to the latest signals of a thaw, viewing the upcoming meeting as a chance for reduced tension.
On-Chain Activity And Institutional Moves
According to on-chain data and exchange records, large-scale activity continued across spot markets. BitMine was reported to have picked up about $1.5 billion worth of Ether, a move that market participants say shows faith in Ethereum’s long-term outlook.
Meanwhile, El Salvador quietly added eight BTC to its reserves, bringing its total holdings to 6,355.18 BTC.
Based on exchange records, major centralized platforms recorded a net outflow of roughly 21,000 BTC over the past week.
Coinbase Pro and Binance were named among those with the biggest withdrawals, showing about 15,000 BTC and 12,000 BTC moved off exchanges, respectively.
Traders interpret such flows in different ways: some see accumulation into private wallets, others see funds repositioned by large traders.
The Implications Of This Moving Forward
Reports indicate that the market is reacting to both political signals and positions being adjusted by big hands. If the rhetoric between the US and China continues to show friendly signals, prices may push higher and retest monthly highs.
But the presence of a sizeable short position alongside large long positions suggests that volatility will stay. Presently, data points are being watched closely and traders are establishing balances between advancing positions and hedging.
Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView
