Whales Battle on Hyperliquid: Big Wins, Bigger Losses

How Crypto Whales Wager Billions on Hyperliquid’s High-Stakes Arena

Hyperliquid – a rising decentralized perpetuals exchange – has become a playground for crypto whales, with on-chain data revealing massive leveraged bets on both sides of the market. The overall positioning remains split almost evenly (roughly 48% long vs 52% short open interest on Hyperliquid by value) as of this week, reflecting a tug-of-war between bullish and bearish convictions.

Andrew Tate’s $580K On-Chain Lesson

Andrew Tate made waves after posting a 138% gain on an ETH long via Hyperliquid — but the flex backfired. Since the platform is on-chain, sleuths quickly traced his wallet and revealed the truth: a –$580K lifetime PnL and just $146K equity left.

While Tate claimed he'd “make it all back in one trade,” his Hyperliquid debut now stands as a textbook case in the risks of high leverage and on-chain transparency. A 25× ETH long is no joke — and even celebrity bravado can’t mask a red portfolio on a public ledger.

His brief appearance on-chain shows just how far Hyperliquid’s reach has extended — drawing not just degens and whales, but influencers chasing fast gains. This time, though, Tate became just another liquidation in a $1B+ market flush.

Machi Big Brother Cashes Out on HYPE Rally

While some whales took heavy losses, Machi Big Brother (Jeff Huang) scored one of the week’s biggest wins by riding the HYPE rally. As the Hyperliquid token surged past $40 — more than doubling in price — Machi’s combined spot and leveraged long positions (totaling ~850K HYPE) netted him over $7M in profits, including staking rewards.

He began accumulating at ~$29 and added a 5× perp long at ~$35.6. As the token hit ATHs, Machi trimmed his position, locking in gains but still holding ~440K HYPE in perps and his original 200K spot — worth around $12–13M.

His ongoing exposure signals continued confidence in HYPE’s upside, especially with Hyperliquid setting user and TVL records. Some on-chain sleuths even suggest Machi is now rotating into a 25× ETH long, potentially positioning for the next major leg up.

Abraxas Capital

One standout is Abraxas Capital, an entity identified by on-chain sleuths to be using two wallets for a strategic short portfolio.

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As of late May, Abraxas was shorting 2,572 BTC ($288M), 57,317 ETH ($151M), and 504,957 SOL (~$89M) on Hyperliquid with 10× leverage. These shorts were initially underwater by over $20–25M during the market’s rally.

However, fortunes reversed when the market turned down: by June 6, amid a broader crypto pullback, Abraxas’s short book flipped to a floating profit exceeding $55M.

This dramatic swing underscores how effectively timed hedges can pay off. It’s suspected their shorts hedge a large long spot portfolio – meaning this whale was willing to absorb short-term losses on leverage until the hedge finally bore fruit. Now sitting on a hefty unrealized gain, Abraxas exemplifies “smart money” insulating itself against downturns.

AguilaTrades

Meanwhile, an equally audacious long bet was observed from a wallet believed to be AguilaTrades. According to blockchain analysts, an address tagged “AguilaTrades” on Hyperliquid built a BTC long position worth $434 million notional – an eye-popping size even in crypto.

This position (around 3,800 BTC on 20× leverage, entry price ~$108.6K) was one of the largest on record for the platform. Initially, it paid off with a few million in unrealized gains. But as Bitcoin’s price momentum stalled and reversed, the tide turned. The whale prudently trimmed the position to reduce liquidation risk, closing roughly $95M worth of the long.

They now hold about $317M of the BTC long (approx. 3,000 BTC remaining) and are showing around a $4M paper loss at the current price. By June 13, the on-chain saga took a twist: AguilaTrades fully closed out the long, swallowing about $12.4M in losses, and flipped short on BTC.

In other words, this veteran whale capitulated on the long and is now betting on further downside – a stark illustration of how even “strong hands” must cut losses in the face of market reality.

James Wynn

It’s worth noting that James Wynn, another infamous Hyperliquid high-roller, had a similarly humbling week. Wynn became a crypto legend after reportedly turning $0 into $87M within months through hyper-leveraged trades. He gained notoriety for colossal positions (at one point a $1.14B long on BTC that was $39M in profit) and wild swings in fortune.

But recent events show even legends can fall: by the end of May, Wynn had lost roughly $100M in a single week amid a series of liquidations. He was liquidated on multiple positions (including meme coin bets like PEPE) when the market moved against him.

In fact, one opportunistic counter-trader reportedly made \$8M profit shorting BTC “just in time” as Wynn’s long imploded. Wynn’s saga – from spectacular gains to catastrophic losses – underscores the extreme risk in this arena. It also highlights why whale watching has become a spectator sport: tracking these big wallets can sometimes yield profitable clues (as those who faded Wynn discovered).

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