Key Highlights
- Crypto trader James Wynn scraped $3,911 USDC (mostly referral rewards), deposited on Hyperliquid, and opened a 40x short on 2.69 BTC (~$190K exposure); just hundreds from liquidation as Bitcoin sat near $70,700.
- A quick BTC rally on positive U.S.-Iran news under Trump liquidated his $3,430 margin. Undeterred, he reloaded his remaining ~$2,600 and reopened the short immediately.
- Once turned millions into nearly $100M, Wynn has now lost ~$98.5M since May 2025 with billion-dollar bets, multiple wipes, 12 liquidations in a day, and an $80M weekend drawdown.
James Wynn, one of the most popular and pseudonymous crypto traders, is back in the fray and he’s doubling down on his bearish bet against Bitcoin.
According to on-chain tracked and highlighted by Arkham Intelligence, Wynn scraped together roughly $3,911 in USDC, largely from referral rewards, and deposited it to Hyperliquid. He promptly opened a 40x leveraged short on about 2.69 BTC, creating roughly $190,000 in notional exposure.
The position sat perilously close to liquidation, just hundreds of dollars away from being wiped out as Bitcoin hovered near $70,700.
Hours later, the trade met its fate. A brief rally, fueled in part by positive headlines around possible U.S.-Iran negotiations under the President Donald Trump administration, pushed BTC higher and liquidated Wynn’s entire margin for approximately $3,430. Undeterred, he reloaded with his remaining balance—now down to about $2,600—and reopened the short.
The trader, who once turned a few million into nearly $100 million on Hyperliquid, has a long history of losing all the funds in spectacular fashion.
The move caps a brutal run for the once-celebrated degen. Since peaking in May 2025, Wynn has racked up roughly $98.5 million in total losses across leveraged bets that included billion-dollar-sized positions in both directions. He’s endured multiple full account wipes, a dozen liquidations in a single day, and an $80 million drawdown over one wild weekend.
In the crypto community, some see Wynn as a cautionary tale of unchecked leverage and emotional trading in a market that rarely forgives timing mistakes. Others treat his saga as pure entertainment—a real-time case study in high-stakes gambling where conviction meets volatility.
With Bitcoin trading around $71,000 and showing short-term strength, Wynn’s latest all-in short adds another chapter to his legend. Whether it marks the bottom of his streak or just another footnote in a long list of liquidations remains to be seen.
Also read: Bitcoin Reserves Near Record Lows While ETFs Stage 2026 Comeback
