From Contract Legend to "Chain Beggar": The Life-or-Death Gamble of 40x Leverage Whale James Wynn
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From Contract Legend to "Chain Beggar": The Life-or-Death Gamble of 40x Leverage Whale James Wynn
Genius is on the left, madman on the right.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Golem, Odaily Planet Daily
Over the past three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, most people in China took the opportunity to step away from their workstations and battlefronts to relax. Across the Atlantic, however, James Wynn—the whale who has repeatedly opened over $100 million BTC long positions on Hyperliquid—was unable to leisurely sunbathe on a superyacht. Instead, he remained entrenched in the financial trenches.
According to hypurrscan data, James Wynn's account has incurred total losses exceeding $17.97 million. He still holds a 40x leveraged BTC long position valued at over $100 million, with an entry price of $105,890 and a liquidation price at $103,620. His current unrealized profit stands at approximately $210,000.
James Wynn's Account PnL
Perhaps due to immense psychological pressure from his losses, James Wynn began lashing out on social media, cursing exchanges, faking announcements of halting futures trading, and ultimately resorting to asking fans for money to maintain his positions. Yet just one week earlier, he was celebrated as a legendary trader riding an $87 million peak unrealized gain, potentially exiting with a $25 million profit. From legend to perpetual contract gambler—what will be James Wynn’s ultimate fate?
The Atlantic's Liangxi: Fundraising to Maintain Position
On May 31, after multiple rounds of deleveraging, James Wynn closed his BTC and PEPE long positions, suffering total losses of $17.72 million, leaving only $16.28 in his wallet. Nevertheless, the trader claimed that "$100 million is but a speck of dust."
On June 2, James Wynn announced again that he would suspend derivatives trading—but merely two hours later, he dramatically returned, opening a 40x leveraged BTC long worth over $100 million on Hyperliquid. In a performative move, he tagged Wintermute on X (formerly Twitter), declaring his high-profile comeback.
However, James Wynn’s position proved far less resilient than his words, repeatedly approaching liquidation and requiring additional margin injections. When funds were nearly exhausted late on June 2, like countless other perpetual contract gamblers before him, James Wynn turned to borrowing money to stay afloat. As an influential KOL, he adopted tactics reminiscent of the “Eastern Contract Warrior” Liangxi, publicly sharing a donation address on X, framing a "rival" market-making group as a common enemy to rally support against, and promising to repay all contributors 1:1 if he won.
After his position returned to profitability, this fundraising post was deleted. Public on-chain data shows that by the time the post disappeared, James Wynn had raised approximately $60,000 worth of USDC, ETH, and other tokens—and promptly transferred almost all of it out.
As of now, James Wynn’s $100 million 40x BTC long holds an unrealized profit of $210,000, with a liquidation price at $103,620. Although the fundraising tweet has been removed, should he face liquidation again, another round of "on-chain begging" may soon follow.
Is His True Identity a Hyperliquid Spokesman?
While frequently opening large trades on Hyperliquid and making bold statements on social media, James Wynn no longer resembles a trader sharing strategies or insights. Rather, he appears more like a social media personality chasing attention and engagement.
Liangxi, widely regarded as the pioneer of the "fundraising-to-trade" trend, commented: “James Wynn is a fabricated persona created by HYPE. He uses multiple accounts to hedge his positions—one going long while others go short—ensuring he bears no real risk. His goal is to manipulate the emotions of over-leveraged speculators, lure retail investors into traps, boost HYPE’s visibility, and drive up its price. I’ve already shorted HYPE at its peak of $39, and I believe it will fall below $20.”
Evgeny Gaevoy, founder and CEO of Wintermute—the market maker cast as James Wynn’s fictional adversary—responded to Wynn’s public taunts with mocking remarks: “Overall, I think this is just a well-executed marketing campaign for Hyperliquid. James Wynn did a great job. The tweets were excellent.”
Regardless of intent, James Wynn has undeniably boosted Hyperliquid’s profile. In May, he rose to fame after defeating a so-called “insider whale” on Hyperliquid with a 50x leveraged trade, followed shortly by a staggering $1 billion position that shocked the market.
Meanwhile, HYPE’s price surged to a record high of $39.8 that same day. However, when James Wynn first announced his withdrawal from futures trading, HYPE’s price began to drop. Only two hours later, after Wynn re-entered Hyperliquid to open a PEPE long, did HYPE’s price recover. It’s hard not to wonder what prompted such a swift reversal—could it have been a direct payment from Hyperliquid itself?
Exchanges creating celebrity traders to attract copy-traders is standard practice. Sun Yuchen once sponsored Liangxi with a trading fund, simply requesting he place trades on Huobi to increase its visibility.
Still, some speculate James Wynn’s actions are solely aimed at qualifying for the next round of HYPE airdrops. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, posted: “I’m starting to think this (referring to whale James Wynn attempting zero-cost fundraising) might become one of the most successful exchange marketing campaigns in crypto history. HYPE will prevail. Also, this guy is probably hedging via another anonymous address—purely farming for the next airdrop.”
Yet for someone who has previously earned tens of millions through trading, the incentive of an airdrop may not be that compelling.
Genius on the Left, Madman on the Right
James Wynn’s past two weeks have unfolded like an epic drama series, prompting widespread speculation about his ultimate fate. Regardless, he can no longer be seen as a respected trader. Judging from his recent actions and flamboyant public statements, it’s clear he possesses a performative personality, thriving on attention. For any serious trader, however, publicly disclosing massive positions is unwise. Prominent trader Eugene commented: “James Wynn’s open establishment of ultra-large positions is highly controversial. From experience, this is almost always a bad idea—its negative externalities typically outweigh any benefits.”
It’s difficult to label James Wynn as either genius or madman. His extreme leverage usage, multi-million-dollar swings in PnL beyond ordinary comprehension, emotionally charged social media rants, and fearless, all-in attitude form the core of his persona. These traits have elevated him from obscurity to a figure akin to Liangxi—a standout among the crowd.
During a livestream conversation with Sun Yuchen on Huobi on June 1, James Wynn stated: “In fact, I enjoy this process. Even if I earn $1 billion, I wouldn’t spend it on myself. What I seek isn’t wealth, but the thrill of the game.”
Yet perhaps even James Wynn himself hasn’t realized it: that boy from a run-down town in England, who once described his hometown as a place “no one escapes, filled with knife crime, drugs, alcohol, and poverty…” has now entered an even deeper battlefield.
“No one can escape here—this place is filled with greed, desire, hypocrisy, and deception…”
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