Making $2.27 million in a Single Day: Unveiling the On-Chain Hunt and Market Dynamics of APE's "Insider Address"

In the crypto market, behind every sudden and unexpected surge, there is often the lurking presence of savvy "smart money." Recently, during ApeCoin (APE)'s meteoric rise, a new wallet address capitalized on precise leverage trading, raking in a staggering $2.27 million in profit in a single day, achieving a remarkable 14x return on investment. What's even more eye-catching is that after exploiting the APE surge, the address swiftly transferred the funds to Lido DAO (LDO), once again generating profits.

This article will delve into the on-chain transaction history of this "insider address," and in conjunction with recent trends in the crypto market's capital flows, rumors about market makers, and the rebound of the NFT market, explore the underlying currents of this "pump of an old coin."

APE Slaying Moment: Turning $170,000 into a 14x Miracle

On April 24, 2026, the long-dormant APE suddenly surged, with a one-day gain of over 110% and peaking near $0.1965. Amid this frenzy, a newly created Hyperliquid wallet address (0x0b8a...) emerged as one of the biggest winners. According to on-chain data tracking firms Lookonchain and Onchain Lens, the address's actions can be described as a textbook example of "inside trading":

Capital Preparation: On the eve of APE's surge, this new wallet sold 75 ETH on the Hyperliquid platform, cashing out approximately $174,000 as the initial investment.

High-Leverage Long Position: Subsequently, the address boldly utilized 5x leverage to margin trade 9.19 million APE tokens (with a nominal value of around $1.03 million).

Precise Liquidation: As the APE price soared, the address closed the long position near the peak, realizing a profit of about $1.79 million in a single transaction.

Quick Short Position: Astonishingly, after closing the long position, the address promptly opened a short position, profiting approximately $488,000 as the price retraced.

In just one day, this address magnified the initial $174,000 investment to $2.45 million like a snowball, with a total profit of $2.27 million. This precise timing of entry and the adept switching between long and short positions have led many to speculate whether it had access to undisclosed insider information.

The catalyst for APE's surge this time was the announcement of a significant executive reshuffle at its parent company, Yuga Labs. Former CEO and co-founder Greg Solano transitioned to the role of Chairman, appointing industry veteran Michael Figge from the film and animation sector as the new CEO.

The market interpreted this personnel change as a positive signal of governance improvement and strategic reorganization at Yuga Labs, reigniting investors' speculative enthusiasm. However, considering the precise accumulation at the insider address before the news was announced, this undoubtedly deepened the market's scrutiny of its "insider trading."

Seizing the Opportunity, Moving with a Massive Fund to LDO

After harvesting on APE, the address did not slow down but quickly shifted its focus to another established DeFi project, Lido. According to Lookonchain monitoring, the suspected insider used two wallet addresses to once again go long on 5.57 million LDO with a 5x leverage position on Hyperliquid, with a total position value of up to $5.16 million.

This morning, as the LDO price subsequently surged by over 20%, the address once again made a significant profit. One associated wallet closed the position after making a profit of about $50,000, while another wallet continued to hold a long position of 5.96 million LDO (worth approximately $2.65 million), currently showing an unrealized gain of about $250,000. This means that the address has accumulated approximately $300,000 in profit from its LDO operations.

Unlike APE, which was purely stimulated by the news, LDO's rise is supported by a more solid fundamental foundation. Previously, the LDO price had experienced a long period of decline, plummeting over 95% from its all-time high and even briefly touching a historic low near $0.27. Faced with the token price deviating significantly from the protocol's fundamentals (Lido has a deep moat and stable staking income), the Lido DAO community passed a blockbuster proposal in mid-April: to use up to 10,000 stETH from the treasury (valued at around $20 million) to buy back LDO tokens.

This buyback plan brought direct buying pressure and strong price support to LDO, leading to a 10-week high in the price. The address chose to heavily invest in LDO at this time, clearly eyeing the upward price potential brought by the buyback plan.

Funds Rotation, Liquidity Providers, and Price Rebound: The Cryptocurrency Market's Undercurrent Resurfaces

In April 2026, the Bitcoin dominance rate (BTC.D) still remained high at 56%-60%, and the market did not see a full-fledged "altcoin season." However, with risk-off sentiment easing and BTC maintaining a high volatile range, some profit-taking funds began to look for new breakthroughs and rotate towards more elastic altcoins.

However, with the broader crypto market rebounding, hot picks from various sectors have emerged one after another. In addition to the previous BSC ecosystem meme craze, following the White House press dinner shooting incident over the weekend, the meme market once again saw a surge of "hype coins." In this partial capital rotation, several old-school tokens with low market caps or long-term downward trends, such as RIVER, APE, and ORDI, have successively staged extreme pumps in the past month.

Nevertheless, this "altcoin frenzy" often lacks sustained fundamental support and is more a result of capital games. According to crypto Key Opinion Leader (KOL) revelations, a market maker named HSBG has become a hot topic in the community, allegedly making billions of dollars in profit just by trading the RIVER project. Their influence has even extended to manipulating the token's unlock schedule.

From APE's 14x windfall to LDO's follow-up surge, the on-chain footprint of this "inside address" has revealed the cruelty and precision of capital games in the crypto market. With capital rotation and market maker boosting, the drama of "old coin pumps" continues to play out. For retail investors, while marveling at the smart money's profits, it is essential to maintain a clear mind and be vigilant against the manipulation risks behind extreme market movements.

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