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.
Finally, on June 5, Wen lost $2.81 million on his long Bitcoin position, bringing his total losses to $20.4 million.
"I closed my position. I accepted the defeat. MM's 1-0 win over Wynn," he declared.
At the time of writing, Win's performance showed a success rate of 40.48%, with 17 successful trades out of 42.
Anonymous ETH Whale
Win's fall is part of a broader trend, with other cryptocurrency traders suffering millions of dollars in losses. In March 2025, an anonymous cryptocurrency trader, identified by wallet address 0xf3F496C9486BE5924a93D67e98298733Bb47057c, suffered a massive $308 million loss after liquidating a long Ethereum position with 50x leverage.
The trader opened the position when Ethereum was trading at $1,900, with a liquidation price of $1,877. However, amid increased market volatility due to global tariff concerns, the price of Ethereum fell sharply, resulting in the liquidation of 160,234 ETH.
Lookonchain reported that the whale converted all of his Bitcoin into leveraged ETH trading, amplifying the risks:
“Unbelievable! This whale just changed all of his long Bitcoin positions to long Ethereum,” the post read.
160,234 Ethereum liquidated by an anonymous trader.
Leveraged trading, which uses borrowed funds to amplify profits and losses, proved disastrous in this case, as a small price movement wiped out the trader's entire position. Meanwhile, the trader had not opened any positions in Hyperliquid since late March.
Hey there.
While leveraged betting has led to significant financial losses, it has also resulted in significant human losses. In June 2019, Hui Yi, co-founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency market analysis platform BTE.TOP, committed suicide, according to
Yi's distress is believed to have stemmed from his involvement in a failed short trade with 100x leverage on 2,000 bitcoins. This excessive leverage magnified his losses, leaving his position highly vulnerable to even minor price fluctuations.
There was also speculation that the 2,000 bitcoins may have belonged to clients. Some even suggested that Ye may have faked his death to avoid compensation. However, there was no evidence to support these theories.
A former partner confirmed Yi's death. This tragic incident highlights the psychological impact of leveraged trading and the risks of using excessive borrowed funds in the volatile cryptocurrency market.
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