A high-risk crypto trader suffered a dramatic wipeout over the weekend, losing millions on HyperLiquid before immediately re-entering the market with another round of oversized leveraged shorts — a pattern reminiscent of past collapses by reckless derivatives traders.
The gambler, known for previously sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to online casinos like Stake and Roobet, was liquidated for roughly $5.5 million after placing $168 million worth of highly leveraged short positions ahead of Sunday’s rebound. The positions included shorts on bitcoin (BTC$84,716.87), XRP (XRP$1.9485), zcash (ZEC$608.15), and smaller bets against ASTER, BNB, and RESOLV.
The trader ramped up bearish exposure just as several major tokens hit multimonth lows on Friday, with market sentiment sliding into “extreme fear,” according to the crypto fear and greed index.
Despite the seven-figure loss, the trader immediately doubled down, opening $115 million in new leveraged bitcoin and ether shorts on decentralized exchange GMX shortly after the liquidation event. Those positions remain active, showing an unrealized profit of roughly $1.4 million at press time.
The aggressive leverage, rapid re-entry, and impulse-driven behavior mirror the downfall of the pseudonymous trader James Wynn, who earlier this year lost $100 million after repeatedly longing bitcoin at local tops.
Bitcoin is currently trading near $94,100, relinquishing most of the gains it saw during Sunday’s brief recovery.
