When the "Meme Hunter" Meets the "Insider Trader": A Retrospective of the Billion-Dollar Leverage Battle for BTC

Original Article Title: "Whale Fight, Billion-Dollar Bet, A Comprehensive Review of the High-Leverage Long vs. Short Battle"

Original Article Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher

Last night, as Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high, a "billion-dollar showdown" unfolded on-chain in a spectacular long vs. short clash. Two aggressive and high-stakes trading titans faced off: on one side, the legendary trader James Wynn, and on the other, the self-proclaimed "Hyperliquid 50x Insider" known for his high win rate. The two opened a 40x leveraged BTC long/short position, instantly capturing the market's attention. Leverage amplifies gains but also magnifies greed. Let's review the details of this late-night battle.

Who Are They?

The long player, James Wynn, has been hailed as the on-chain "Legendary Meme Coin Hunter." His trading journey started very modestly, initially being just a "10U War God" with wallet interactions amounting to just a few tens of dollars. However, during the PEPE craze, he made a sudden shift in style, becoming heavily leveraged and gaining fame overnight. Riding the PEPE's meteoric rise, James Wynn turned his initial $7,644 investment into over $25 million.

James Wynn's trading style can be summarized in three key words: large positions, high leverage, high frequency. Almost every time he opens a position, he accompanies it with a callout. In recent BTC long positions, he has repeatedly shouted, "100k Bitcoin is very cheap."

The short player, known as the "Hyperliquid 50x Insider," has a more mysterious background. Starting from January this year, multiple addresses associated with him have been using high leverage on GMX, accumulating profits of around $2.53 million. He is active on gambling platforms like Roobet and AlphaPo, has interacted with the hacker-favorite exchange ChangeNOW, and single-handedly walked away with $1.8 million from the Hyperliquid platform, becoming a legend in a single battle. (Related Read: Going all out to even fleece exchanges! A deep dive into how Hyperliquid was drained of $1.8 million?)

Regarding his true identity, ZachXBT once wrote that this "Insider" is likely linked to William Parker (WP). WP is a "professional gambler" with a history of fraud and was arrested in Finland in 2023 for stealing a total of $1 million from two online casinos. He has made headlines in the UK media multiple times for fraud related to hacking and gambling.

Battle Recap

According to on-chain analyst Auntie Ai's provided data, in the early hours of May 21, an epic on-chain battle quietly began.

2 AM – 4 AM: Two Players Enter with Increased Positions

At 2 AM, James Wynn made the first move, increasing his 40x leveraged BTC long position to 7764.26 BTC (worth approximately $8.32 billion).

· Entry Price: $105,033.4

· Liquidation Price: $100,330

· Unrealized PNL at the time: approximately $16.59 million

At 4 AM, the Insider entered the short side with full conviction. He counter-traded at a short-term BTC high with a 40x short position:

· Position Size: 826.18 BTC (approximately $88.41 million)

· Entry Price: $107,091.9

· Liquidation Price: $108,500 Unrealized PNL at the time: $68,000

Image Source: Auntie Ai

2 PM: BTC Breaks $107,500, Divergence Emerges

The positions of both parties began to diverge:

James Wynn: Long position unrealized PNL increased to $19.83 million

The Insider: Short position unrealized loss of $375,000

3 PM to 6:30 PM: James Wynn Takes Profits in Batches, Position Continuously Decreases

3 PM: Long position reduced to 5625.43 BTC, unrealized PNL of $9.43 million, realized profit of $10.48 million

4 PM: Further reduced to 4640.26 BTC, unrealized PNL of $7.68 million, realized profit of $11.92 million

6:30 PM: Partially closed more positions, remaining only 2524.86 BTC, unrealized PNL decreased to $2.72 million, accumulated realized profit of $14.57 million

By this point, James Wynn's long position had decreased from the peak of $8.32 billion to $2.68 billion, gradually securing gains.

9:00 PM: Frontline Stabilizes, James Wynn Maintains Low Profile, Insider Brother Holds Steady

BTC retraces to $106,500.

James Wynn does not immediately increase his position, holding a long position: 1819.58 BTC ($193 million), with an unrealized gain of $2.65 million and a realized profit of $15.42 million.

Insider Brother's short position: 826.18 BTC, with an unrealized gain of $542,000.

After 11:00 PM: Clash of the Titans, Both Increase Position, Tension Reaches Its Peak

As BTC breaks above $108,000, James Wynn significantly increases his position, while Insider Brother reloads, adds margin, and opens a new short position:

· James Wynn

Position increased to 7444.97 BTC ($815 million) with a new average entry price of $107,726.7

Liquidation price: $101,420

Current unrealized gain: $13.46 million

· Insider Brother

Short position increased to 597.4 BTC ($65.43 million)

New entry price: $108,185.5

Liquidation price raised to: $112,320 (added $2 million USDC as margin)

Current unrealized loss: $806,000

11:30 PM to Midnight: Historic Head-On Collision, Positions Exceed One Billion

Approaching 11:30, James Wynn's long position surpasses $860 million, with a liquidation price raised to $101,980; Insider Brother's short position expands to $101 million, with a liquidation price of $110,780.

Approaching 11:45, James Wynn's long position nears $900 million.

Approaching midnight: James Wynn's position exceeds one billion, reaching the peak of this round, as the showdown between the two titans reaches its climax.

May 22 Morning Battle Report: James Achieves a Decisive Victory

BTC experiences significant volatility and breaks above $110,000, reaching a new all-time high. James Wynn continues to increase his long position all the way to 10,200 BTC, valued at $1.12 billion, with an unrealized gain of $20.19 million. Insider Brother, who originally had a substantial unrealized gain in his short position, continues to increase his position in the $106,670-$107,410 range, missing the opportunity to take profit, leading to a 24-hour cumulative loss expanding to $5.61 million, still holding a 40x short position of 449.43 BTC.

Between Victory and Defeat, Understanding the Edge of Leverage

James Wynn writes of victory, while the insider pays the price for greed and hesitation. This "billion-dollar showdown" not only exploded the data front but also sounded a dual warning of risk and discipline for the market. And similar games may be playing out right in front of us. The current BTC futures open interest has soared to a new all-time high, reaching $80.263 billion. In the past 24 hours, the total liquidation amount in the crypto market has reached $407 million, with $240 million in short liquidations and $167 million in long liquidations.

Under high leverage, unrealized gains and liquidations are only a hair's breadth apart.

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