It's not, because the risk is calculated.

Finance has been doing the same for ages, so these people may come from a very traditional finance background...

Genuinely curious- In what sense is the risk calculated? I understand that the leverage factor is known but fundamentally isn’t this still just a bet that eth will rise? And if it falls then won’t the loss be multiplied by the same leverage factor?

Obviously you can research the eth market and form a view but you can also research horse racing form and the odds themselves should be a fair calculation indicator if the betting market is working well - so it seems fair to suggest that this is in the same category as a horse racing bet.

As the article says, Ethereum needs to move down 60% for them to be liquidated.

This is unlikely to happen overnight (if they are finance pros, they do compute probabilistic models), leaving them time to unwind their position when situation changes.

> As the article says, Ethereum needs to move down 60% for them to be liquidated

This is basic margin math.

100% they have a background in finance. It is apparent when you look at their wallets.

going long with margin is not something only people from finance backgrounds know

Risk being calculated doesn't make it any less gambling. Do you think people who play roulette don't understand the risk?