Who Is James Wynn And Why Has He Taken The Crypto World By Storm?

By Anthony • June 2, 2025 9:30 am • Comments

The HyperLiquid trader James Wynn has had crypto X in a frenzy for the last week.

James Wynn, an anonymous crypto trader on HyperLiquid, is a trader known for his high-risk trades on Bitcoin and meme coins such as PEPE.

Wynn was known to turn $7,000 into millions by buying into PEPE early and has since turned towards high-leverage trading Bitcoin.

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But he has since lost it all.

Here’s what CoinDesk reported:

Derivatives trader James Wynn emerged out of the woodworks a few weeks ago, flaunting 9-figure bitcoin positions on HyperLiquid as he went on a seemingly undefeatable run that culminated in around $100 million worth of profit.

But that run, as is often the case with highly-leveraged crypto derivative trading, came to a shocking end — Wynn liquidated his entire account despite BTC only moving by a couple of percent.

“I’ve decided to give perp trading a break,” Wynn wrote on X after the final blow up. “Its been a fun ride. Approximately $4 million into $100 million and then back down to a total account loss of $17.5 million.”

Wynn’s story is nothing new. In 2021, for instance, the industry saw the public rise of Alex Wice — a poker player turned derivatives trader — that also lost $100 million after making huge bets with leverage. And even in 2017, in the BitMEX trollbox days, pseudonymous figures like SteveS and TheBoot used to boast about their 10s of millions in profit and loss before forever fading into obscurity.

Cryptocurrency derivatives can be an incredibly useful tool; if a trader holds 500 BTC ($52 million) and believes the market will go down, they can hedge their position by going short — reducing exposure without having to sell their spot assets, which in itself could cause slippage or front running.

An array of delta neutral strategies can also be employed like the classic basis trade that became popular amongst institutional traders on the bitcoin CME futures market, which involve simultaneously going long and short to harvest the funding rate as a yield.

But issues begin to form when crypto traders, the majority of whom are inexperienced retail traders, use platforms that offer up to 100x leverage.

Imagine a newcomer had $5,000 in trading capital, sure, they could make a few intraday trades and make $50 or $100 per trade, but if they used 100x they could make $50,000 per 10% move. This is the slippery slope of gambling-induced emotional trading that many fall into.

Check out what Binance reported:

In the chaotic world of crypto trading, stories of massive wins and devastating losses are nothing new.

But when James Wynn — a well-known crypto whale — was liquidated for over $100 million in a single, sudden move, traders around the world took notice.

Not because he lost big.

But because of how it happened.

That loss didn’t just wipe Wynn out. It revealed what many in the space have long suspected:

The system is rigged — and it might be working against you.

The Setup: A Whale, a Long Position, and a “Normal” Day

James Wynn wasn’t a rookie trader.

He was running 8-figure positions with tight risk management, solid collateral, and smart exposure.

On this particular day, he’d opened a long position on a well-known altcoin. Market conditions were stable. No major announcements. No flash crashes. Everything looked… normal.

Until it wasn’t.

Out of nowhere, one single exchange showed a violent wick downward.

The price dropped just enough to trigger Wynn’s liquidation.

Oddly, no other exchange showed the same move.

There wasn’t a coordinated sell-off. No whale dump. No market-wide panic.

Just a short-lived, sharp dip on one platform — and $100M gone in seconds.

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