Whale’s cbBTC to ETH Swap Shows $8.37M Paper Loss Amid Recent ETH Arbitrage Losses

Chainalysis data reveals a significant transaction involving a whale who swapped 220.1 cbBTC, valued at approximately $20.81 million, for 6,202.4 ETH earlier this year at an exchange rate of 0.0354. At the time, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading near $94,548, while Ethereum (ETH) was priced around $3,355. Assuming the assets remain held, the BTC portion has appreciated to roughly $23.72 million, whereas the ETH value has declined to approximately $15.35 million, resulting in an unrealized loss of about $8.37 million.

More recently, the same address initiated a fresh arbitrage sequence, offloading 3,158 ETH at $2,378 to acquire 7.51 million DAI stablecoins. Within hours, it repurchased 3,053 ETH at a higher price of $2,460 per ETH. This maneuver incurred a net loss of 105 ETH, equating to nearly $260,000. These moves underscore the complexities and risks inherent in crypto arbitrage strategies, especially amid volatile market conditions.