James Wynn, the Trader Who Bet $1B on Bitcoin, is Now Long Pepe

One of the most closely watched crypto wallets in recent weeks is now betting on pepe (PEPE), days after drumming up a record billion-dollar notional position on bitcoin BTC on the onchain trading platform Hyperliquid.

The wallet has gone long on PEPE with $1 million at 10x leverage, flipping from billion-dollar bitcoin trades to high-stakes memecoin bets. The position is already up $500,000 as of European morning hours, with pepe up nearly 6% in the past few hours.

Pseudonymous trader “James Wynn” — known as “moonpig” on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid — closed their $1.2 billion BTC long position with a $17.5 million loss on Monday.

Wynn then opened a $1 billion short using 40x leverage, effectively wagering their entire $50 million wallet on the downside. Both positions are a record for an onchain platform and represent the biggest bets placed entirely on a blockchain-based service.

Wynn’s new short was opened at an average price of $107,077, and has already netted about $3 million in profit as BTC hovered just below that level Monday, before losing some value.

The trade is a high-risk musical chairs event: if BTC rises above $110,446, Wynn’s position could be liquidated unless additional collateral is posted, data shows.

That position is since closed and Wynn said on X stepping away from perpetual trading altogether. They have netted a total profit of $25 million from an initial above $3 million, the account said on X.

“Now decided to leave the casino with my $25,000,000 profit,” he posted. “It’s been fun, but now it’s time for me to walk away a wynner.”

Read MoreCoinDesk: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Crypto News and Price Data[#item_full_content]