James Wynn: The rise and fall of the King of Degen

Author: Token Dispatch, Thejaswini MA

Compiled:Block unicorn

Preface

From a forgotten town in the UK to a crime-filled street to the pinnacle of cryptocurrencies’ most adventurous transactions.

From $7,000 to $25 million on a meme coin that no one is optimistic about.

From the billion-dollar Bitcoin gamble that made Wall Street traders envious to tears.

To the point where the $100 million evaporates in the final liquidation, the entire cryptocurrency world is watching it all in horror.

Meet James Wynn - This trader embodies every "fallener"'s wildest dreams and most terrible nightmare.

His story begins with the desire to nurturing TRS-80 computers and poverty, and eventually culminates with the most transparent transaction crash in cryptocurrency history.

The ending of the story raises a question that hits the core of this industry.

The man, known as "moonpig" on Hyperliquid, has become a major lesson worth learning in the cryptocurrency space. Let us dive into the rise and spectacular fall of this fallen king.

Forgotten town boy

James Wynn was not born in a wealthy family.

According to his self-reports on social media, he comes from a “forgotten town” in the UK – a place characterized by high crime rates, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and extreme poverty.

“I was born at the bottom,” he said.

Image source: @JamesWynnReal

This is not a typical Silicon Valley entrepreneur's origin story.

There is no Stanford MBA, no family relationship, and no venture capital background.

He is just a kid who "barely make ends meet every week" but develops a risk appetite that makes hedge fund managers feel uneasy.

When you have nothing, betting on everything seems to be a rational choice. When survival is your bottom line, extreme leverage is just another Tuesday.

The specific details about his early life were deliberately kept obscure – James Wynn kept his personal identity confidential, using pseudonyms and wallet addresses to trade. But the desire he described was clearly visible in every subsequent deal.

By 2020, he entered the cryptocurrency space.

The first clue came in December 2020 when blockchain investigators found him receiving $6,000 in Ethereum from Alameda Research , the now-infamous Sam Bankman-Fried trading company.

Image source: @sunil_trades

Whether this fund is seed fund, service fee, or something else, is not yet clear. Importantly, the funding gave Wynn the initial bargaining chips.

Because he is about to convert this chip into extraordinary wealth.

PEPE prophecy

The deal that made James Wynn famous began with boredom.

In 2023, as he mentioned in his X post, he stumbled upon a thing that changed his life while browsing the micro-market meme coins on iToken: PEPE inspired by the “Pepe the Frog” network model.

The market value was only $600,000 at that time. Most traders are too lazy to even pay the Gas fee.

But Wynn saw something different.

With approximately $7,000 in initial capital, Wynn began hoarding PEPE tokens without much interest. Then he did something to consolidate his legend: he made a public prediction.

In April 2023, when PEPE's market cap reached $4.2 million, Wynn claimed it would reach $4.2 billion.

This is a 1000-fold prediction. Targeting a meme coin. Based on a cartoon frog.

The crypto world is laughing at him. Then PEPE does develop according to Wynn's prediction.

By December 2024, PEPE's market capitalization exceeded US$10 billion. Wen's $7,000 turned into about $25 million —more than 3,500 times the return.

Image source: @Coingecko

But money is just part of the story. This prediction made Wynn a legend in the meme currency circle.

He wasn't just lucky—he made his goal public and achieved it.

The community calls him "10U God of War"—referring to starting from a small amount and expanding all the way to millions. His Twitter fans relished every word he said.

Things began to become complicated from then on.

The dilemma of influencers

Success in the crypto world brings followers.

But followers also bring responsibility.

And responsibility has never been Wynn's strength.

By 2024, with the success of PEPE, Wynn began promoting other tokens. His model is simple: find a micro market capitalization meme coin, accumulate it quietly, and then promote it publicly.

The ELON event defined this stage of his career.

In April 2024, Wynn began promoting a token called ELON, whose enthusiasm was no less than his PEPE. He sent out "crazy orders" and inspired the enthusiasm of the community. His fans didn't know that he quietly stocked up on a large number of assets in multiple wallets.

As ELON's price surged, Wynn claimed there was a "problem" in the token and announced that it would clear its position. Prices plummeted by 70% almost immediately.

Image source : @StarPlatinumSOL

Followers who bought according to his recommendations, the tokens in their hands became worthless, while Wynn left with the profit.

This operation was quick and violent. The community that once regarded him as a prophet is now condemned as a manipulator. His reputation based on the success of PEPE has disappeared.

Similar allegations followed in other tokens.

BabyPepe : Wynn was accused of obtaining 2% of the token supply, promoting it in his Telegram group, and selling it immediately, making a profit of $68,000.

MOONPIG : He allegedly bought 3% of the total supply, pushed up prices through social media, and then sold his position.

WYNN and ELON Tokens : Despite his support, both of these tokens plummeted after the issuance.

Wynn denied any misconduct, claiming that he was “just an investor and was not involved in the development or manipulation of tokens.” But the damage has been done.

The God of Meme Coin has fallen. It's time to reshape yourself.

Hyperliquid era

In March 2025, James Wynn made a decision to define his legend: he deposited about $6 million to the decentralized perpetual contract exchange Hyperliquid.

This platform is perfect for Wynn's new strategy. High leverage, low fees, and complete transparency of all transactions. Unlike centralized exchanges that hide the trends of big players, every position on Hyperliquid is open.

Wynn isn't just trading—he's acting.

From March to May 23, 2025, he executed 39 leveraged trades with a winning rate of 43.59%. But what attracts attention is not the winning rate, but the transaction size.

His leverage operation is by no means easy.

He regularly uses 40x leverage for Bitcoin and 10x leverage for meme coins, with an average leverage ratio of about 22x . This means that his $55.8 million collateral controls positions worth more than $1.25 billion .

By May 10, his profitability was impressive.

• PEPE long positions : US$23.8 million unrealized profits

• Bitcoin longs: $5.4 million unrealized profit

• Official Trump: $5.57 million unrealized profit

• Fartcoin: $5.15 million unrealized profit

By May 23, his profit peaked at $87 million .

His deal brought huge fees to Hyperliquid – more than $2.3 million in just two months. Some speculate that he was deliberately showing the functionality of the platform.

“They want me to trade on ByBit , and even if they give me $1 million a month, I won’t stop using Hyperliquid,” Wynn claimed. “I publicly advertised my trading for half of the reason I wanted Hyperliquid to dominate the exchange market share because other exchanges were corrupt.”

This transparency is intoxicating. The trader is willing to show every position, every profit, every loss. The crypto world is fascinated by it too.

They are about to witness history—just not the kind that Wynn expected.

Seven days to defeat the king

May 19, 2025. Bitcoin: $103,302.

James Wynn opened a 40-fold leveraged long position in 5,520 bitcoin for $103,302, with a liquidation price of $98,294.

Over the next seven days, he experienced increasingly desperate transactions that eventually led to a loss of wealth and triggered the most public collapse in cryptocurrency history.

Days 1 - 2 (May 19 - 20) : Wynn expands his position to 7,764 bitcoins with a nominal value of $830 million. His average entry price moved to $105,033 and the liquidation price was $100,330.

Day 3 (May 21) : He increased his position to 9,371.71 Bitcoin, with a position worth more than $1 billion. The unrealized gains for the deal were $10.71 million and the average entry price was $108,005. Later that day, he closed 2,139 bitcoins and achieved a realized profit of $11.92 million.

Day 4 (May 22) : New long positions of 10,200 Bitcoin were opened at $108,065. Unrealized profits peaked at $39 million as Bitcoin hit $111,900.

Day 5 (May 23) : Turning point. Bitcoin fell 4% to $106,700 after Trump announced a 50% tariff on EU imported products. Wynn closed another PEPE position, making a profit of $25.18 million, and increased his long position to 11,588 bitcoin, with an average entry price of $108,243. Liquidation level: $105,180.

Image source: @JamesWynnReal

Day 6 (May 24) : He closed his position at $107,746 and lost $13.39 million. In desperation, he turned to short, expanding his short position in Bitcoin to 7,967.83 Bitcoin, worth $856 million, and finally closed his position at $111,280.

Day 7 (May 26) : The last blow. Wynn closed a short position in Bitcoin worth more than $1 billion and lost about $15.87 million in 15 hours.

Total loss over seven days: approximately $65 million .

His peak profit was as high as $87 million, but now it has fallen to about $27 million. But this number is misleading - because the loss is far from over.

Day 8 (May 30) : As Bitcoin fell below $105,000, James Wynn was closed, losing 949 bitcoins, worth $99.3 million.

Image source: @lookonchain

The reality of his Hyperliquid dashboard—a red liquidation mark, telling the story of his complete bankruptcy. The Arkham Intelligence Platform confirmed the scale of the loss:

Image source : @arkham

His response?

Image source : @zachxbt

From peak profit of $87 million to complete liquidation. The transparency that once made him famous recorded every step of his bankruptcy for the whole world to watch.

Hunting season

Perhaps the cruelest aspect of Wynn's downfall is that it has been made public.

Since Hyperliquid makes all transactions transparent, other traders can see his exact liquidation level. What happened next was described by blockchain analyst Lookonchain as a “brutal hunt . ”

The savvy trader deliberately targeted his stop loss and liquidation levels. The transparency that had built his followers' foundation became a weapon used to deal with him.

Some traders even adopted an "anti-Wynn strategy." According to on-chain data, a trader achieved $5.6 million in realized gains in three days through operations opposite to Wynn's position.

The psychological pressure is huge. His every move was scrutinized, and every loss was celebrated by critics. The hunter turned into prey.

In a moment of sobering, Wynn tries to pull away.

“Now I decided to leave the casino with $25 million in profit,” he posted on May 26. “It’s fun, but now is the time to leave as a winner.”

Five hours later, he was found to have opened a 10-fold long position with a $20 million PEPE.

His addiction is too strong. The performance must continue.

ZachXBT's allegations

As Wynn's transaction losses continue to increase, blockchain investigator ZachXBT launched a devastating attack on his reputation.

Just as Wynn warned fans to be wary of scam tokens named after him, ZachXBT accused him of hypocrisy and said he “gambled with stolen money” on Hyperliquid.

These allegations are specific and conclusive.

Relationship with Alameda: ZachXBT implies that Wynn's transaction funds are from suspicious sources associated with the FTX/Alameda crash and empirizes the December 2020 ETH transfer.

Pull-up sell-off scam: Detailed accusation of Wynn of promoting low-market meme coins and then selling for profit, causing fans to suffer losses.

BabyPepe Event : X user Dylan posted a 15-page post claiming that Wynn applied for and received a private allocation of BabyPepe tokens, publicly promoted the tokens and sold immediately, while cutting ties with the development team.

FTX creditor activist Sunil Kavuri said bluntly: “James Wynn’s deal is like the steroid version of Alameda because he probably worked as a trader there.”

Wynn denied misconduct but did not make any detailed rebuttals about the specific allegations. His reputation was severely damaged and permanent.

Our Views

James Wynn represents the double-edged sword of cryptocurrency – both a prophet and a cautionary tale, embodying all the glory and flaws of our industry.

The good side : Wynn proves that real insight remains crucial in the cryptocurrency space. His forecast of P/E ratios is not derived from luck, but from research, belief, and the courage to act when others are reluctant to take action. He proves that a desire-filled outsider can outperform an institutional investor with resources. . His radical transparency challenges an industry built on opacity, showing retail investors how whale-level positions work in real-time.

The Bad Side : Wynn's transition from trader to influencer exposed the most toxic dynamic in the cryptocurrency space—the monetization of fans. His alleged pull-out selling plan reveals how easily market insights can translate into market manipulation when audiences become sources of exit liquidity. His $100 million liquidation proves that even real skills become irrelevant when self-awareness overrides risk management.

We have created an ecosystem in which social media fans are equated with financial credibility, transparency becomes performance art, and extreme adventures are repackaged as "Alpha Generation". His destruction was live to nearly one million fans, who confuse gambling addiction with trading geniuses.

The deeper question is whether cryptocurrencies’ transparency brings accountability or vulnerability. Traditional finance hides institutional failures behind the scenes, while cryptocurrencies are live streamed in 4K resolution and provide live commentary. This is not progress—more like a voyeurism disguised as innovation.

Wynn’s story forces us to reflect: Are we building a financial system that rewards skills and innovation, or are we just creating the most complex casino in the world where dealers are always winners and players are always performing?

The fallen king fell, but the kingdom that created him became increasingly powerful.

So are we looking forward to a comeback now?

Image source: @JamesWynnReal