In early 2025, a mysterious trader made headlines by earning $20 million through extreme leverage and risky trading decisions on the Hyperliquid and GMX platforms.
Parker's High Stakes and Big Wins
The trader launched his campaign with a 50x leveraged position on ETH and BTC, prior to Donald Trump's crypto reserve announcement, resulting in a $10 million profit. He followed with a 40x BTC short, securing another $9 million. The crypto community buzzed with attempts to identify the trader.
ZachXBT Tracks the Hyperliquid Whale
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT undertook the task of exposing the Hyperliquid whale. By tracking wallet addresses, on-chain transactions, and Telegram activity, he uncovered links to phishing scams and casino exploits. A key address, 0xe4d3, funneled funds through Roobet and BC Game casinos, while another wallet received funds from a phishing scam via projection[.]fi.
Implications for Hyperliquid and the Industry
The suspect trader, identified as William Parker, was revealed to be a British man with a history of financial crimes. His actions caused Hyperliquid to lose $4 million due to his $200 million ETH position, prompting the platform to lower leverage limits and conduct reforms to prevent similar incidents.
William Parker's story serves as a stark reminder of the impact of non-transparent actions. Stricter security measures are needed to prevent future abuses.
