Hyperliquid whale turns bearish, flipping $1 billion BTC position from long to short
A crypto trader on the platform Hyperliquid has opened one of the largest on-chain short bets in history, putting nearly $50 million on the line to open a $1 billion short position on BTC with 40x leverage, just hours after closing a similarly-sized long bet on the world's most valuable cryptocurrency. James Wynn, also known as "moonpig" on the DEX, opened the 40x short cross-margin position — meaning his entire wallet, worth nearly $50 million, is on the line — shortly after closing a $1.2 billion BTC long position and reducing his historical profit by $17.5 million, according to CoinGlass data. Wynn, who had previously predicted BTC would reach $110,000 on Saturday, said he cut his losses in closing the position in a post on X. BTC rose only modestly on Saturday, from about $107,300 to about $108,000, according to The Block's Bitcoin Price page. So far, the bet appears to be paying off for Wynn, who has profited $3 million from the position, which he opened at an average entry price of $107,077. Wynn's current position will be liquidated if BTC rises to $110,446 and Wynn doesn't add more collateral. Despite the losses, Wynn's total profit stands at over $40 million on Hyperliquid, as the platform's open interest has surged to record highs, according to CoinGlass. The price of HYPE, the platform's token, has risen over 8% in the past 24 hours, according to The Block's HYPE Price page, and is now trading around $37.28, just shy of its fresh all-time high around $38.68 achieved on Saturday. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.