James Wynn’s $87M Crypto High: How the Hyperliquid Whale Lost Nearly Everything

James Wynn rose to crypto fame by betting on PEPE when its market cap was only $600,000. His forecast that the token would reach a $4.2 billion cap came in April 2023, when PEPE was valued at $4.2 million.

In a post on X, Wynn wrote:

“I was born in the trenches. Scraping by week by week for a 2x here and 4x there. Then the #1 meme in the world propped up in front of me on iToken… Aped hard. Made 8+ figures.”

This early success positioned him as a prominent meme coin trader. His involvement in low-cap tokens, however, later triggered backlash due to alleged token dumping and manipulation.

Wynn’s Hyperliquid Trading Peaked at $87 Million Profit

Wynn began leveraged trading on Hyperliquid in March 2025. According to Lookonchain, between March 13 and May 23, he earned $46.5 million in profit across just under two months.

Data from Hyperdash shows Wynn completed 39 trades in total, with 17 turning a profit, giving him a 43.59% win rate. His profits reached their peak on May 23, 2025, at $87 million.

His most profitable trades include:

• $25.19 million on a PEPE long

• $16.89 million on a Bitcoin (BTC) long

• $6.83 million from a TRUMP long

• $4.84 million on Fartcoin (FARTCOIN)

Hyperliquid also collected around $2.31 million in trading fees from Wynn’s activity.

Wynn defended his loyalty to the platform by saying:

“They want me to trade on ByBit, I won’t stop using HyperLiquid even if they offer me $1m a month.”

Massive Losses Slashed Wynn’s Gains to $13 Million

On May 25, Wynn lost $15.86 million on a short BTC trade. Other notable losses include:

• $3.69 million on a long Ethereum (ETH) position

• $1.59 million on a long SUI trade

• $976,635 on another BTC long

• $858,580 loss from a 10x leveraged long on PEPE

At press time, he held a 40x leveraged BTC long that remained over $1 million in unrealized losses. These recent setbacks dropped his total profit to $13 million.

Accusations of Token Promotion and Dumping Surface

Wynn’s influence on X grew as he publicly shared his positions. Critics, however, accused him of promoting low-cap tokens for personal gain.

According to Star Platinum, Wynn allegedly pushed coins like ELON and WYNN, which collapsed after launch. He was also linked to Baby Pepe, where he reportedly received 2% of the supply, later dumping all his tokens.

A user claimed:

“Not only did he dump the tokens that the CTO team worked hard to acquire, he also shamelessly sold to his followers. James profited 68,000 from one sentence that he’s since deleted.”

Wynn also held about 3% of MOONPIG, a Solana meme coin. Observers said he helped pump the price before selling, which may have triggered its collapse.

Wynn responded to the criticism, saying:

“Don’t expect me to bull post your bags all the time as if this is on me. It’s community that will take this to Valhalla not me alone. Same goes for all meme coins.”

Despite denials, Wynn’s trading record, promotional activity, and recent losses have placed him under scrutiny as both his gains and reputation continue to fluctuate.