The whale is employing a long ETH model, borrowing stablecoins against ETH collateral on Aave to buy more ETH.
The crypto whale, popularly known as the “66K ETH Borrow Whale,” purchased 39,658 Ethereum (ETH) from Binance. Immediately after, the whale deposited the entire amount, worth approximately $125 million, into Aave.
This latest purchase is not an isolated event but the most recent one in a constant accumulation streak. The “66K ETH Borrow Whale” continues to use decentralized finance (DeFi) for capital deployment, rapidly converting off-chain liquidity into on-chain collateral.
Since November 4, 2025, the whale has accumulated over 385,000 ETH, representing a purchase value exceeding $1.33 billion. This accumulation has been characterized by consistent withdrawals from centralized exchanges.
The Long ETH method
The whale’s strategy is a clear recursive leveraging model aimed at going “Long ETH.” The process involves a repeated loop, which includes depositing existing Wrapped Ether (WETH) holdings into Aave as collateral. Next, borrowing stablecoins, primarily USDC and USDT, against the WETH collateral.
Then, the whale transferred the borrowed stablecoins to centralized exchanges, such as Binance. More ETH was purchased with the stablecoins. The loop ends with the withdrawal of the newly purchased ETH and redepositing it into Aave as WETH collateral, restarting the loop and thereby borrowing even more funds.
The “Long ETH Model” or “Recursive Leveraged Long ETH Strategy” is applied to DeFi for increasing one’s exposure to Ethereum (ETH) without the addition of fiat currency or any capital beyond the deposit.
The objective is to bet that the price of ETH will increase, while the gains from the price appreciation will outweigh the interest cost paid on the borrowed assets.
The whale has been on a spree, working the recursive leverage model, which includes the borrowing of $170 million in USDT from Aave and immediately sending it to Binance to fund further purchases.
These recent buys include a withdrawal of 28,262 ETH ($98.59M) and a very recent purchase of 19,508 ETH ($61.03M) from Binance, both supplied as collateral to Aave V3 to maintain growth. These purchases have pushed the whale’s total Ethereum holdings to over 405,252 ETH, valued at approximately $1.28 billion.
The 40,000 ETH withdrawal results in a reduction in the liquid ETH supply available on centralized exchanges, which typically removes selling pressure. At the same time, the deposit also increases Aave’s Total Value Locked.
While safe at the moment, the move makes the whale vulnerable to any price decline in ETH and poses a liquidation risk to the market in the case of an Ethereum crash.
This action occurred during a period of bearish momentum for Ethereum. With an increased long exposure, the whale was betting that the market price of ETH would go up and cover most of the interest costs of the borrowed stablecoins. However, in a turn of events, ETH has suffered a price drop of over 3% in the last week. Due to the declining market, the whale has suffered unrealized loss.
Users and investors await the stabilization of Ethereum to continue participating in the market.