- James Wynn reportedly lost $100M on a 40x long BTC trade after prices dipped below $105K, triggering a major liquidation.
- Despite modest BTC price movement, over-leveraged positions proved highly vulnerable to liquidation.
- Recent data shows both long and short liquidations spiking during price swings, driven by aggressive leverage usage.
A massive liquidation event has shaken the cryptocurrency trading community after a top market participant, James Wynn, reportedly lost $100 million on a single leveraged Bitcoin position. The crash happened on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid when Wynn took a very risky 40x long trade. The sharp decline of prices started one of the largest isolated liquidations in the market to date.
This event has once again raised concerns over the use of high leverage in crypto markets. While platforms continue to offer amplified exposure for experienced traders, such tools have proven to carry high levels of risk.
Bitcoin’s Slide Pressures Leverage-Heavy Traders
According to data from CoinMarketcap, Bitcoin is currently trading at approximately $105,341, down 2.68% over the last 24 hours. The price movement, while not extreme by crypto standards, proved enough to wipe out the heavily leveraged position.
The Bitcoin market remains under pressure, with $105,110 now acting as the immediate support level. Resistance has been identified near $108,851, suggesting that Bitcoin may face difficulty regaining upward momentum in the near term. The 24-hour trading range indicates limited volatility, but leveraged traders have already felt the impact of this seemingly minor decline.
Although 1 BTC still holds its value above $105,000, the sharp drop highlighted the fragility of overly leveraged positions. No change has been observed in the circulating supply metrics, however volume has surged 16.34% now at $60.06B.
BTC Liquidations Spike Amid Volatile Price Swings
Data from the BTC Total Liquidations Chart above visualizes the liquidation volume of both long and short positions across the Bitcoin market. The chart shows multiple liquidation events exceeding $279.49 million, with the most significant occurring around February 28 2025, where long liquidations peaked above $558 million. This suggests a sharp downward move in BTC price that caught long traders off guard.
Moreover, frequent Short Liquidations show consistent spikes, especially in mid-May and late April, pointing to upward price moves that forced out bearish positions. One standout occurred around May 14, where short liquidations nearly touched $279 million.
This uptrend coincides with a higher frequency of short liquidations, reinforcing the upward price momentum. Thus, The pattern of liquidations aligns with volatility surges—suggesting that aggressive leveraging continues to dominate trading behavior.
