Crypto Investor James Wynn Loses $87M Portfolio in Just 5 Days: An In-Depth Overview

Brief Overview

• James Wynn, a notable figure in the digital asset sector due to his high-stakes leveraged trades, recently garnered attention for executing remarkable trades before a subsequent Lookonchain update indicated a complete loss of his portfolio.
• In an ironic turn, an unidentified trader managed to earn $5.6 million in just three days by frequently countering Wynn’s trades.

The Saga of Wynn

This month, Wynn initiated a long position in BTC valued at approximately $390 million. The position originally had a liquidation threshold set at $96,600 and a margin of slightly under $10 million. Over the subsequent days, he escalated this position to an impressive $1.25 billion with a leverage of 40x.

At one juncture, Wynn found himself in a profitable situation, boasting an unrealized gain of $87 million as BTC surged past $110,000. However, by the end of last week, the market experienced a downturn spurred by an announcement related to potential tariffs on the European Union, reversing gains across the cryptocurrency landscape.

This decline substantially eroded Wynn’s profits, prompting him to switch his stance by opening a short position of 1,038 BTC priced at $107,711, which had a liquidation point set at $149,100. Ultimately, he closed all contracts with a $25 million profit.

Many users on X praised his maneuvers, dubbing him a “legend.” However, there were critics who wished for his losses. In response, Wynn made a pointed comment to his detractors:

For all my critics who relished seeing my portfolio drop by $60 million, just know that you’ll soon watch it rebound back into the hundreds of millions—money you can’t even dream of obtaining.

Shortly after announcing his profit, Lookonchain reported that Wynn re-entered the market, once again taking a long position in BTC with 40x leverage, with the size of this portion reaching 684 BTC valued at $75.34 million and a liquidation price of $103,120. Soon after, he amplified his long holding to 5,676 BTC, with a liquidation point set at $108,010.

Apart from BTC, Wynn has also shown interest in PEPE, having previously spent $182,000 to acquire 7.2 trillion tokens. He successfully sold a substantial portion for nearly $34 million while retaining over 443.7 billion PEPE, currently valued at more than $6 million.

Lookonchain indicated that Wynn was actively trading this meme coin on Hyperquid, executing four profitable transactions which amassed $25.4 million in total.

Subsequently, it was suggested that Wynn deposited 240 billion PEPE into Binance, raising speculation about his intention to cash out. Following this, it became apparent that he likely sold a portion of his holdings to support his long BTC position while depositing the remainder into the exchange.

Countering Wynn and Significant Losses

The whale executed substantial long and short trades on the decentralized platform Hyperliquid, making these transactions visible to others in the market. Lookonchain reported on a sharp trader who successfully bet against Wynn and netted $5.6 million within a mere three days.

This trader specifically shorted BTC whenever Wynn went long and did the opposite during Wynn’s short positions. On May 24, the trader opened a short on BTC and ETH, closing it the next day for a profit of $1.36 million.

When Wynn initiated a BTC short, the trader went long on both BTC and ETH, which yielded a $2.54 million profit by May 26. Ultimately, the unidentified trader opened further short positions on BTC and ETH, resulting in an estimated profit of $1.7 million.

Speculation arose that this mysterious trader might actually be Wynn using a different account to hedge his risks. However, Wynn denied these rumors, stating:

I am not pleased with this narrative. Whoever trader 0x2258 is, it is not me, and I’m unaware of who they are. I only use one account, which is publicly available. Please refrain from spreading unfounded rumors without evidence.

The latest insight from Lookonchain presents a harsh reality for the whale, noting that it took him 70 days to amass the previously mentioned $87 million position, only to lose nearly all of it within five days.