James Wynn, a crypto trader known for his high-stakes, high-leverage strategies, is making headlines again after opening a $46.1 million long position on Bitcoin (BTC) using 40x leverage on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid. The move follows a volatile 24-hour period in which Wynn reportedly lost more than $12 million after being forced to close a heavily liquidated BTC position.
According to on-chain data and social media reports, Wynn aggregated 344.7 Ethereum (ETH) — worth roughly $900,000 — across multiple wallets and sold the assets on Binance.
He then withdrew $500,000 in USDC to fund the new BTC position. Wynn’s latest long trade was executed at an opening price of $105,560, with a liquidation price of $102,713 — a slim $2,847 margin that exposes him to extreme downside risk.
Crypto analyst and X user @EmberCN first flagged the trade, noting that Wynn’s position amounts to 437 BTC. Alongside the Bitcoin bet, Wynn is also maintaining a $13.02 million long position in PEPE, a memecoin, at 10x leverage. The PEPE trade was opened at $0.0129 with a liquidation threshold of $0.0116.
Wynn’s enthusiasm for PEPE follows a profitable trade earlier this month in which he reportedly turned a $7,000 investment into $25.2 million. Despite recent setbacks, that success appears to have emboldened his continued interest in speculative altcoins.
James Wynn, lost $99.3M in a week on Hyperliquid after Bitcoin dipped below $105,000, liquidating his 949 BTC position; he had scaled up to a $1B notional value with 40x leverage, a strategy that left him vulnerable.
The X post by Lookonchain highlights a massive liquidation event on Hyperliquid, where Wynn’s position was wiped out due to a sharp Bitcoin price drop, illustrating the extreme risks of high-leverage trading, as a 2.5% price drop at 40x leverage can erase the entire margin.
Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual futures platform, processed this $99M liquidation without issues, showcasing its robust infrastructure, but the event underscores the volatility and manipulation concerns in crypto markets, as Wynn himself hinted at potential foul play.
Hyperliquid is a decentralized layer-1 trading platform offering up to 40x leverage on perpetual futures. It has gained popularity for its low fees and lack of KYC requirements, appealing to aggressive traders like Wynn.
Still, competitors such as Bybit offer leverage up to 200x with differing liquidation protocols.
Wynn’s trading style exemplifies the risks inherent in leveraged crypto markets. Leveraged positions can quickly magnify losses during market volatility. Wynn experienced this firsthand earlier this month with a $29 million loss following former President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement.
At press time, Wynn’s available margin sits at approximately $1.95 million. He is also holding $4 million in Hyperliquid’s native HYPE token, which is set to be unstaked on June 2. Whether his latest move results in a comeback or compounds his losses remains to be seen — but his trades continue to capture the attention and concern of the crypto trading community.
Join our Telegram Channel