James Wynn, a self-proclaimed high-risk leverage trader and meme coin maxi, has become a polarizing name in the industry. His recent trades have drawn significant attention from market observers, making him one of the most closely watched traders in the space.
However, the Hyperliquid whale wasn’t always a big-time crypto giant. Staggering profits, significant losses, and allegations of questionable practices have marked his journey.
Inside James Wynn’s Explosive Trading Career
The earliest record of Wynn’s trading activity is from December 2020. According to pseudonymous user Star Platinum, the trader reportedly received $6,000 in Ethereum (ETH) from Alameda Research, the now-defunct firm linked to Sam Bankman-Fried.
However, it wasn’t until a few years later that Wynn started to attract more attention. As mentioned in his X bio, Wynn was one of the early investors of PEPE, a token inspired by the globally recognized “Pepe the Frog” meme. He bet on the meme coin when its total market value was $600,000.
In an April 2023 post, Wynn predicted that PEPE would reach a $4.2 billion market cap—a bold call made when it was just $4.2 million.
Notably, his bet proved particularly lucrative. PEPE’s success reportedly turned Wynn’s early investment into millions.
“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 as I was looking for micro cap meme coins. Aped hard. Made 8+ figures,” Wynn wrote on X.
After his initial success with meme coins, the trader shifted focus to leveraged trading and joined Hyperliquid. He began actively trading on the platform in March.
“Since March 13, he’s been actively trading on the platform and has racked up $46.5 million in profit in under 2 months,” Lookonchain noted.
According to Hyperdash data, the trader has executed a total of 39 trades, with 17 of them resulting in profits. This corresponds to a win rate of 43.59%. His profits peaked at $87 million on May 23, 2025.
Wynn’s most profitable trades include a long position in PEPE, which generated $25.19 million in profit, followed by a long position in Bitcoin (BTC) with $16.89 million gained. A long trade in Official Trump (TRUMP) also yielded $6.83 million, while a long position in Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) earned $4.84 million.
His activity has also benefited the Hyperliquid platform. Lookonchain data highlighted that the trader paid the platform approximately $2.31 million in trading fees.
“They want me to trade on ByBit, I won’t stop using HyperLiquid even if they offer me $1m a month. Half the reason I’m shilling my trades publicly is because I want HL to dominate the exchange market share because other exchanges are corrupted,” Wynn claimed.
Nonetheless, the trader has recently faced significant setbacks. On May 25, he suffered his largest loss of $15.86 million on a short Bitcoin position.
Other notable losses include around $3.69 million on a long Ethereum trade, about $1.59 million on a long Sui (SUI) position, and an additional $976,635 lost on a long Bitcoin trade.
In fact, today, BeInCrypto reported that Wynn’s 10x leveraged long position on PEPE resulted in a loss of $858,580. His current open 40x leveraged Bitcoin position is also sitting at an unrealized loss of over $1 million at press time. Thus, his total profits have plunged to $13 million.
Hyperliquid Whale Wynn Accused of Profiting from Meme Coin Dumping
Wynn is not only a prominent force on Hyperliquid but also on X. He regularly shares his positions, amplifying his influence. However, this openness has also attracted substantial backlash.
The trader has faced criticism over his promotion of low-cap tokens. Star Platinum revealed that Wynn promoted tokens like ELON and WYNN, which were supposedly tied to him. Nevertheless, both collapsed post-launch.
Wynn also allegedly received 2% of the Baby Pepe token supply from the team. However, he quickly sold all his tokens, supposedly taking advantage of the project for personal gain.
“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,” a user revealed.
Wynn was also linked to the recent controversy surrounding the Solana meme coin MOONPIG. He allegedly bought about 3% of MOONPIG’s total supply, helped pump its price to a peak, and then sold off his holdings, which some in the community claim caused the sharp price collapse.
Despite these accusations, Wynn denied any wrongdoing, stating he was only an investor and not involved in developing or manipulating the coin.
“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,” he said.
Once celebrated as a visionary, the Hyperliquid whale now faces questions about his methods and sustainability in a market that offers little forgiveness for missteps. As the market moves, supporters and detractors will closely watch Wynn’s next moves.
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