Overview
- Crypto trader James Wynn, whose balance had been near $100 million, was reduced to about $900 after a sixth forced closure in two weeks following Monday’s surge that pushed Bitcoin above $69,000.
- Wynn repeatedly shorted Bitcoin at roughly 40x leverage, a setup where a rise of about 2.5% can exhaust collateral and trigger an automatic liquidation by the exchange.
- On-chain trackers Arkham, Lookonchain, and HypurrScan reported the cascade in real time and cited Hyperliquid data showing the latest closure executed around $67,955 with no positions left open.
- Wynn acknowledged the loss on X, saying he had lost $100 million in days and describing his trading as gambling rather than disciplined risk-taking.
- Prior records show a long history of liquidations and sharp swings, including more than $22 million in recent losses after peak profits reported near $76 million last year, highlighting the risks of chasing trades in a rising market.