Controversial celebrity Andrew Tate is learning that high-leverage trading on decentralized platforms like Hyperliquid is not for the faint of heart.
His experience comes only days after James Wynn made headlines as an unlucky whale taking leveraged bets on Hyperliquid.
Andrew Tate’s Hyperliquid Gamble Mirrors James Wynn’s Costly Collapse
According to on-chain data from Lookonchain, the influencer and former kickboxer lost $583,000. The losses came after placing over 76 trades but managing only 27 wins, which translates to a 35.53% win rate.
His latest move? A 25x leveraged long on ETH. This position raised eyebrows as it is eerily reminiscent of the disastrous strategies deployed by the infamous Hyperliquid whale, James Wynn.
Tate’s risky leverage puts him at serious risk of liquidation, a reality James Wynn knows all too well. Wynn, who once amassed $87 million in trading gains, saw most of it evaporate in a string of poorly timed trades.
Among them were a $100 million BTC long and a 10x PEPE trade that cost him $858,580.
BeInCrypto documented Wynn’s decline, showing how the high-flying trader became a lesson as Hyperliquid’s trading volumes exploded to $8.6 billion daily, fueled by his viral losses.
Blockchain Receipts Crash Bravado, Reveals Pain of Overleveraging
Tate, who recently deleted a post boasting a 138.5% profit to promote his referral link, was quickly exposed when blockchain sleuths uncovered his true wallet performance.
Andrew Tate’s 138% Gain on ETH. Source: Andrew Tate on X (Twitter)
“Andrew Tate just showed his hyperliquid trade that was 138.5% profitable… his wallet was quickly found and discovered that he was $600,000 in the red,” posted Daniel from CCPool.
That last part, promising to make it all back in a single trade, is where the red flags multiply. Analysts warn that any leverage above 10x increases liquidation risk by over 40%, especially in volatile markets.
Financial technology company OneSafe revealed a March 2025 incident where a whale on Hyperliquid had a $200 million ETH position wiped out after margin maintenance fell short.
That trader used 50x leverage, indicating how fast things can spiral.
“High-leverage trading can be a double-edged sword…It offers a tantalizing opportunity for profit, but… can lead to some pretty devastating losses,” the OneSafe analysis noted.
The collapse triggered questions about risk protocols and even saw Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, drop 8.5%. These episodes have prompted Hyperliquid DEX to reduce max leverage levels. Bitcoin’s cap fell from 50x to 40x, and Ethereum from 33x to 25x.
These incidents show that transparency and real-time liquidation monitoring are essential for decentralized exchanges (DEXs) to avoid blowups.
Beyond the traders themselves, however, these public wipeouts offer a broader lesson on decentralization and transparency.
“This is a lesson on the advantages of decentralization. Everything is on the blockchain. So no matter the lies anyone tells, you just have to look to confirm,” King Crypto noted.
Tate’s wallet now reportedly holds just $4, prompting jokes online.
Tate and Wynn’s incidents are more symbolic than strategic. They show two high-profile traders caught in leverage, which is arguably DeFi’s most treacherous trap.
