A major Ether (ETH $3,960) holder suffered a multi-million-dollar loss Thursday as the cryptocurrency fell below $4,000 for the first time since August 8, amid a broader market downturn fueled by U.S. government shutdown concerns.

The whale, associated with address 0xa523, had a leveraged bullish position of 9,152 ETH ($36.4 million) forcibly liquidated by the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain. The liquidation pushed the whale’s total losses to over $45 million, leaving its remaining balance under $500,000.

Ether hit a session low of $3,983 during Asian trading hours, as other major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC $109,396), also came under pressure amid escalating fears of a government shutdown.

Data from Coinglass indicates roughly $100 million in leveraged bets were liquidated during Asian trading, with more than $90 million tied to bullish positions. This suggests market leverage was heavily skewed toward long positions betting on ETH appreciation, amplifying the impact of the downside move.