On-chain tracker Lookonchain reported wallet 0xC8b5 opened a 3x leveraged long on 37,229 SKHX (a Hyperliquid perpetual) on July 29, creating a $37.3M position that swung from a $778K gain to a $2.26M unrealized loss before rebounding to a $6.44M profit after SK Hynix’s strong Q2 earnings. The stock surged as much as 28.59% to ₩1,700,000 on July 31, and the episode — alongside a prior $57M liquidation on SKHX — underscores rising adoption of crypto derivatives and on-chain equity exposure but also acute volatility and liquidation risk for leveraged traders.

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In Brief

Whale 0xC8b5 opened a 3x long on 37,229 SKHX just before SK Hynix's Q2 earnings.
The bet swung from a $778K gain to a $2.26M loss within a day.
A sharp stock rebound has now pushed the trade to a $6.44M profit.

On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain tracked a whale that turned a multi-million-dollar loss into a $6.44 million profit in the days leading up to and following the Korean chipmaker’s earnings.

SK Hynix’s stock had been facing a prolonged and substantial downturn as appetite cooled for AI infrastructure companies. However, an impressive earnings result turned things around quickly.

A Rocky Three-Day Trade

Wallet 0xC8b5 opened a 3x leveraged long on 37,229 units of SKHX on July 29. SKHX is a Hyperliquid perpetual contract that tracks SK Hynix’s share price rather than the stock itself. The $37.3 million position briefly showed a $778,000 gain, per Lookonchain.

Thanks to the strong rebound in $SKHX, whale 0xC8b5 has turned a loss into a profit.The whale's 37,229 $SKHX ($43M) position is now up more than $6.44M, fully recovering all previous losses.https://t.co/oyXYWnWKNm pic.twitter.com/NSupYkSeGH
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 31, 2026

That gain evaporated fast. A day later, the position’s value fell to $34.28 million. The wallet then faced a $2.26 million unrealized loss, according to a follow-up post. Lookonchain noted the trader had lost more than $1 million on each of the previous three trades. That pattern pointed to another costly bet.

Despite the impressive spike, SK Hynix is still down by nearly 15% over the past 5 days. Image Source: Trading View

The reversal came just as fast. The position’s value climbed to roughly $43 million. The whale now sits on a $6.44 million profit, fully recovering its earlier losses.

Why the Swing Was So Violent

SK Hynix posted record Q2 operating profit on July 29. Surging demand for its HBM4 memory chips drove the results. Yet the stock initially whipsawed lower. Investors weighed South Korea’s broader market selloff and lingering doubts about AI infrastructure spending.

That reversed on July 31. SK Hynix shares surged as much as 28.59% to ₩1,700,000 on the Korea Exchange. It marked their sharpest single-day move in years.

Strong earnings from Amazon and Microsoft sparked a broader AI-stock rally. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won added momentum with a rare direct share purchase.

The episode follows a separate $57 million liquidation event on the same SKHX market days earlier. That event underscored how thin the margin for error has become. Leveraged bets that track SK Hynix’s earnings swings now carry real risk.

Read the article at BeInCrypto