$BTC Can cryptocurrency trading fail? These three traders lost $1 million.

In cryptocurrency trading, the promise of huge profits often comes with the risk of huge losses. Over the years, many top cryptocurrency traders have made headlines with their bold bets, only to see their fortunes evaporate when the market turned against them.

From Bitcoin (BTC) to Ethereum (ETH), the cryptocurrency market has proven to be a double-edged sword. Millions can be made or lost in a matter of hours, and traders must bear the consequences of their high-risk moves. Here are the stories of three cryptocurrency traders who lost millions:

James Wayne

James Wynn, a pseudonymous Hyperliquid trader, has become one of the most talked-about personalities on Twitter (now known as X) thanks to his high-risk, high-reward trading style. Wynn began trading on Hyperliquid in March 2025 and has made significant profits thanks to his aggressive trading strategies.

Since starting Hyper Liquid this year, I've made a total profit of $41,696,589.75 (on-chain). My next goal is $1 billion. Not for the money, but for the legacy. I'm unlikely to reach that goal this cycle unless I hit the highest short level at the top, and I'm probably the only person with that kind of wealth who's willing to leverage up to 40x and risk a significant percentage," Wen said on May 9.

The trader made several successful trades. On May 24, he made a profit of $25.18 million from a long PEPE position and $16.89 million from a long Bitcoin position.

Other notable trades included a $4.84 million profit from Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) on May 13 and a $6.83 million profit from Official Trump (TRUMP) on May 12. Wynn's profits peaked at over $87 million in late May.

But this didn't last long, as trades began to falter shortly thereafter. Wen faced a series of major setbacks. On May 23, he lost $3.69 million from a long position in Ethereum and $1.59 million from a long position in SUI.

Two days later, on May 25, he incurred a loss of $15.86 million due to a short position in BTC:

"James Wynn lost most of his Hyperliquid profits. It took him 70 days to go from zero to over $87 million in profits, and only 5 days to lose almost all of his over $87 million in profits," Lock Chain posted on May 28.

Despite losing everything, Wayne's bets continued. The biggest blow came on May 30, when his long Bitcoin position suffered a loss of $37.41 million. Wayne's losses continued through May 31, with an additional $1.20 million loss from another long Bitcoin position.