After the FED announced interest rate cuts, major whale wallets began pouring capital into long positions on Ethereum (ETH). These moves signal strong confidence in ETH’s upside. They also increase overall risk.

Several factors suggest that their long positions may face liquidation soon without effective risk management.

How Confident Are Whales in Their Ethereum Long Positions?

Whale behavior offers a clear view of current sentiment.

On-chain tracking account Lookonchain reported that a well-known whale, considered a Bitcoin OG, recently expanded a long position on Hyperliquid to 120,094 ETH. The liquidation price sits at only $2,234.

This position is currently showing a 24-hour PnL loss of more than $13.5 million.

Similarly, another well-known trader, Machi Big Brother, is maintaining a long position worth 6,000 ETH with a liquidation price of $3,152.

Additionally, on-chain data platform Arkham reported that the Chinese whale trader who called the 10/10 market crash is now holding a $300 million ETH long position on Hyperliquid.

Whale activity in ETH long positions reflects their expectation of a near-term price increase. However, behind this optimism lies a significant risk stemming from Ethereum’s leverage levels.

ETH Leverage Is Reaching Dangerous Highs

CryptoQuant data shows that ETH’s estimated leverage ratio on Binance has reached 0.579 — the highest in history. This level indicates extremely aggressive leverage usage. Even a small price swing could trigger a domino effect.

“Such a high leverage ratio means that the volume of open contracts financed by leverage is rising faster than the volume of actual assets on the platform. When this occurs, the market becomes more vulnerable to sudden price movements, as traders are more susceptible to liquidation—whether in an upward or downward trend,” analyst Arab Chain said.

Historical data indicate that similar peaks typically coincide with periods of intense price pressure and often signal local market tops.

Spot Market Weakness Adds More Risk

The spot market is also showing clear signs of weakening. Crypto market watcher Wu Blockchain reported that spot trading volume on major exchanges dropped 28% in November 2025 compared to October.

November Exchange Data Report: Spot trading volume of major exchanges in November 2025 fell 28% compared with October. The top three exchanges by change rate were Bitfinex +17%, Coinbase -8%, and KuCoin -17%. The bottom three were Bitget -62%, Gate -44%, and MEXC -34%.… pic.twitter.com/oXgFKyrv6b

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 10, 2025

Another report from BeInCrypto highlighted that stablecoin inflows into exchanges have declined by 50%, falling from $158 billion in August to $ 78 billion as of today.

Combined, low spot buying power, high leverage, and shrinking stablecoin reserves reduce ETH’s ability to recover. These conditions could put whale long positions at significant risk of liquidation.

The post Whales Are Going All-In on Ethereum — But Record Leverage Puts Their Longs at Risk appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Privacy coins have emerged as one of the dominant narratives shaping cryptocurrency investment trends this year. The two leading altcoins in this sector by volume and market capitalization are Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR).

Investor attention has focused heavily on ZEC. Meanwhile, XMR continues to show strong and steady growth.

XMR Outperforms ZEC in Many Aspects Despite Lacking the Spotlight

In terms of daily spot trading volume in December, ZEC performed exceptionally well.

According to CoinGecko, ZEC maintains a daily trading volume of nearly $1 billion. This level surpasses XMR and DASH, thanks to strong liquidity on major exchanges like Binance.

However, ZEC falls far behind in daily on-chain transactions. Data from BitInfoCharts shows XMR reaching an average of about 26,000 transactions per day. This figure is more than triple ZEC’s average of roughly 8,000 transactions per day.

The chart also indicates that XMR’s on-chain activity remains consistent over the long term. This trend reflects stable user behavior. In contrast, ZEC’s recent surge and sharp decline appear more like temporary excitement.

On-chain activity carries longer-term significance than spot volume. It reflects real usage patterns and user acceptance of XMR for anonymous transfers rather than short-term trading sentiment.

Additionally, ZEC’s price fluctuates due to increased volatility resulting from speculative trading. XMR’s price movement remains more stable.

TradingView data shows that ZEC has fallen by more than 40% over the past month. Many analysts now suggest the possibility of a bubble pattern. Meanwhile, XMR declined by roughly 12%.

From this perspective, ZEC suits traders who chase the privacy coin narrative and aim for quick profits during extreme FOMO cycles. The downside is deeper price drops and longer recovery periods.

Furthermore, the latest report from MEXC Research reinforces XMR’s position. Over longer timeframes, XMR demonstrates superior trading volume and user activity compared to ZEC and DASH.

“Despite ZEC and DASH posting record-high trading volumes, Monero remains an asset of choice among privacy coin traders, accounting for 93% of total trading volume in Q3–Q4 and 72% of users in this segment,” MEXC Research reported.

The report also notes that growing interest in privacy assets reflects users’ increasing need for anonymity as regulators strengthen capital controls.

Therefore, regardless of holding ZEC or XMR, investors can continue to benefit next year. Experts predict privacy coins will remain a dominant market narrative in 2026.

The post  Zcash Leads in Hype — But Monero (XMR) Is Quietly Dominating Where It Matters appeared first on BeInCrypto.