A pseudonymous trader known as James Wynn was liquidated for roughly $4.8 million on Wednesday after taking on aggressive leveraged positions across multiple crypto assets, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain.
Data from Lookonchain shows Wynn opened leveraged positions worth $4.8 million using only $197,000 in stablecoins as collateral. On Tuesday, he posted on social media, “Back with a vengeance, coming to get what’s rightly mine,” as he entered the trades.
Wynn’s portfolio included a 40× long position on 34 Bitcoin (BTC) valued at $3.85 million, a 10× long on 122 million KingPepe (kPEPE) meme tokens worth $917,000, and a 10× long on 712 Hyperliquid (HYPE) tokens valued at $28,000. Within a day, all three positions were wiped out following sharp price moves across the market.
Balance Plunges After Liquidation
The wallet linked to Wynn held just $63,133 after the liquidation, according to data from the Hypurrscan block explorer. “It seems every time he returns to Hyperliquid to open new positions, it doesn’t take long before he gets wiped out,” Lookonchain wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The collapse came despite Wynn’s repeated attempts to rebuild his fortune through high‑risk trades on Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange popular for perpetual futures contracts. The platform allows users to apply leverage far exceeding their collateral, amplifying both gains and losses.
Leverage trading remains one of the most volatile corners of the crypto market. Even seasoned traders face liquidations within hours when price movements swing against them. Wynn’s strategy of stacking leveraged positions across correlated assets left him exposed to a chain reaction once Bitcoin prices dipped.
Not His First Major Loss
Wynn has become one of crypto’s most notorious figures after a string of massive liquidations. In May 2025, he lost $100 million when Bitcoin fell to $105,000, triggering a margin call that wiped out his long positions. Within days, he returned to the market with another $100 million bet—funded in part by donations from followers—but that position was also liquidated.
The twin collapses made Wynn a cult figure on crypto social media, where his trades were followed as both spectacle and cautionary tale. After the second loss, he deactivated his X account and briefly disappeared before resurfacing this week with the ill‑fated $4.8 million positions.
Traders and analysts have likened his behavior to gambling addiction, where the lure of recouping losses fuels riskier wagers. Wynn’s repeated returns to Hyperliquid despite prior blowups underline the psychological grip of leverage and the social media attention it attracts.
Investor Takeaway
The Broader Leverage Cycle
Leverage in crypto markets has surged during 2025’s bull run, with exchanges offering margin levels of 20× to 100× on popular perpetual contracts. Platforms like Hyperliquid and Binance dominate these markets, processing billions in daily notional volume. But while leverage amplifies returns in rising markets, it also accelerates collapses during pullbacks.
Analysts have warned that highly leveraged positions can trigger cascading liquidations across exchanges, amplifying volatility. Wynn’s liquidation adds to a growing list of high‑profile blowups that serve as reminders of the thin line between speculation and insolvency in crypto’s derivatives arena.
As the market digests this latest episode, Wynn’s saga remains a recurring feature of the leverage‑fueled extremes defining digital asset trading—where fortunes are built and erased within hours.