The $1 Billion Bitcoin Whale: Did They Sink or Swim?

One trader. Two colossal bets. Zero mercy from the market.

When a single entity drops $1 billion in long and short positions, the crypto world holds its breath. Was it a masterstroke or a cautionary tale? Let’s dive in.

Long or short, one thing’s certain—someone’s yacht fund just got a lot more interesting (or a lot more fictional).

Billion-Dollar Bitcoin Long And Short Positions

While James Wynn had been gaining a lot of attention for being a top 5 trader on the Hyperliquid platform in terms of PNL, his most recent round of trades have garnered even more attention. Last week, the crypto trader stunned the community when he opened a $1.2 billion long position, with 40x leverage. With a close liquidation price of $105,179, this seemed to be a risky position, and as the Bitcoin price fluctuated, so did the PNL of the position.

As the bitcoin price moved lower toward the weekend, the trader would close this billion-dollar long position for a $13.4 million loss. After this, James Wynn quickly flipped directions and placed another billion-dollar perp position, but this time in favor of the Bitcoin price going down.

With an entry price sitting just above $107, this would prove to be a fatal decision for the trader as the Bitcoin price began to move upward. Once again, Wynn was forced to close this massive perp position, resulting in a heavier loss of $15.87 million. In total, the perp trader lost almost $28 million in a 24-hour period, according to Hyperliquid data.

What’s Next For James Wynn?

Following the closure of his short position, James Wynn took to X (formerly Twitter) to address the situation. In the post, he explained that after the massive losses, he was looking at no longer playing at perps anymore. Additionally, he revealed that despite the losses, he remains $25 million in the green after starting with a $3-$4 million initial position.

The post drew speculation from the crypto community, with some arguing that the crypto trader would not just stop trading. This proved to be right as only hours later, Wynn was back on Hyperliquid to place multiple bets on new positions.

The crypto trader initially focused on longing PEPE, which has been one of his most profitable coins to trade, earning him over $25 million in profit. He soon opened another bitcoin long position with an entry price of $109,733.

At the time of writing, James has closed his Pepe position after almost getting liquidated as the Bitcoin price plummed. The Bitcoin long position remains, but has been reduced by half to $439 million. In total, the trader took a $4.4 million loss already, and his Bitcoin position remains shaky at a -$4.12 million loss.