A Monday market crypto rout delivered a masterclass in volatility as trade policy shifts triggered a $193 million liquidation event. The most brutal casualty occurred on HTX, where a single Bitcoin whale watched $61.51 million evaporate in one catastrophic wipeout. This violent risk-off wave decimated countless overleveraged crypto traders as Bitcoin tumbled below the critical $65,000 support. Sell-side pressure, sparked by President Trump’s announcement of a tariff hike from 10% to 15%, sent Bitcoin sliding nearly 5% to a low of approximately $64,290.
Sudden macro-induced volatility ignited a liquidation engine that vaporized $461.74 million over 24 hours, according to exchange data. Losses overwhelmingly hit those betting on a rally, with 93% of 134,764 affected traders holding long positions. Such massive fallout underscores a brutal reality for the market: when macro headwinds collide with high leverage, even “blue chip” digital assets face immediate extraction.
Leading the list of today’s market casualties is that record-breaking $61.51 million HTX liquidation. But it’s far from the largest crypto liquidation on record. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most painful crypto wipeouts on record:
8 More Brutal Crypto Whale Losses
History contains several other instances where immense fortunes vanished in the blink of an eye.
1. Air Force Commander
The trader known as the Air Force Commander was famous for betting against the market. They held massive short positions on Bitcoin and Ethereum, often totaling $500 million. For much of 2025, this strategy worked well during market pullbacks. Air Force Commander became one of the most respected and feared contrarian traders on Hyperliquid.
The end of January 2026 brought an unprecedented level of volatility. While the broader market was crashing, short squeezes forced the Commander into a corner.
- Liquidations totaling $199 million hit the account on January 22.
- Another $120 million disappeared on January 26 as Bitcoin surged briefly.
- A final attempt to flip to a long position also failed during the next leg down.
By February, the account that once held half a billion dollars was reduced to $60,000. The Commander appears to have exited the market entirely after this near-total wipeout.
- Total amount lost: Approximately $500 million
- Primary trading instruments: High-leverage shorts on BTC, ETH, XRP, and PEPE
2. Anonymous Crypto Whale
Investors entered 2025 with a sense of invincibility. Bitcoin had just peaked, and speculation regarding Ethereum ETFs was driving extreme optimism. Capitalizing on this, an unknown whale rotated their entire Bitcoin holding into a high-leverage long position on Ethereum. Unfortunately, the timing was off; by March, the market momentum shifted drastically.
Regulatory uncertainty regarding SEC decisions sparked a sudden correction. As price levels dipped, a cascade of liquidations began. The whale held over 160,000 ETH in a cross-long position that couldn’t withstand the volatility. In just a few minutes, the Hyperliquid platform liquidated the entire $308 million stake. The event remains the largest single trading loss for an individual wallet on the platform. The wallet has shown no activity since that day.
- Total amount lost: $308 million
- Primary trading instruments: 50x leveraged Ethereum (ETH) perpetuals
3. HyperLiquid Trader
A single participant, who held held a bullish position on Ethereum on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, felt this impact on February 1. They maintained a heavily leveraged bet while the broader market faced thin liquidity and downward pressure.
The trade ended when Ethereum prices slid roughly 17% in a day. This sharp drop forced the exchange to close the position automatically. The trader lost $222.65 million in one event. This wipeout occurred as total market liquidations climbed toward $2.6 billion during a weekend of intense volatility. The incident highlights the risks of using high leverage in digital asset markets.
- Total amount lost: $222.65 million
- Primary trading instruments: Ethereum long position
4. Garret Jin
Garrett Jin, the trader widely known as Garrett Bullish and the Hyperunit Whale, saw his ETH empire evaporate on January 31, 2026. After famously netting a $200 million profit by shorting the market in late 2025, Jin’s luck reversed.
His aggressive long positions on Ethereum faced a total wipeout as prices plunged toward $2,400 during the second week of February. This single event turned a $142 million lifetime profit into a $128 million net loss, leaving his account balance at $53.
- Total amount lost: $128 million
- Primary trading instruments: Ethereum long position
5. James Wynn
James Wynn built his reputation on aggressive bets and high-leverage trades. He originally gained fame by turning small investments into tens of millions through meme coins. By mid 2025, Wynn had shifted his attention to Bitcoin perpetuals, running them at a staggering 40x leverage. He wasn’t playing small, either – his positions regularly topped $1.2 billion. But the music stopped in June. A sharp price reversal set off a chain reaction, flushing $1.6 billion in liquidations across the market.
Wynn got caught in the middle of it, facing a perfect storm of problems.
- Market euphoria had pushed leverage ratios to unsustainable levels.
- Institutional rotations began moving capital away from risky assets.
- Whale dumping created a sharp drop that his 40x leverage could not handle.
Wynn lost an initial $17 million, but follow-up attempts to recover the balance led to a net loss of $109 million. He later joked about the “corrupt” nature of the markets, but his trading volume never recovered.
- Total amount lost: $109 million (net loss across multiple liquidations)
- Primary trading instruments: 40x leveraged Bitcoin (BTC) perpetuals and PEPE futures
6. Anonymous BTC Trader
In May 2025, Bitcoin was pushing toward new cycle highs above $105,000. One anonymous trader decided to use extreme leverage to maximize their returns on this move. The whale opened a 949 BTC position with 40x leverage. At this level of risk, even a 2% move in the wrong direction could result in total liquidation.
The market provided exactly that correction. Bitcoin dipped slightly below the $105,000 mark, which triggered a localized liquidation event. The trader had no margin left to support the position. The exchange closed the trade instantly, resulting in a $99.3 million loss.
- Total amount lost: $99.3 million
- Primary trading instruments: 40x leveraged BTC perpetual futures
7. Anonymous Whale 0xa523
Some losses happen in a single flash, while others occur through a series of poorly timed decisions. The trader behind wallet 0xa523 experienced the latter in September 2025. This individual frequently flipped between long and short positions on Bitcoin and Ethereum. They attempted to catch every minor swing in a market that was transitioning between bullish and bearish signals.
The strategy failed spectacularly as volatility increased. The whale lost $35 million on a failed Ethereum long and then immediately lost more on a Bitcoin short. They misjudged the recovery of Bitcoin above $116,000 and sold nearly 900,000 HYPE tokens at a massive loss just before the price rebounded. The total hit reached $43.4 million within a month. This case illustrates how overtrading can be just as destructive as a single bad bet.
- Total amount lost: $43.4 million
- Primary trading instruments: HYPE tokens, Ethereum longs, and Bitcoin shorts
8. Machi Big Brother (Jeffrey Huang)
High-profile crypto investor Jeffrey Huang, known in digital asset circles as Machi Big Brother was ensnared in a relentless cycle of liquidations in February 2026 as Ethereum markets faced severe global headwinds.
Despite a series of forced exits during the recent market crash, Huang doubled down on his conviction. Trading data shows he continuously expanded his Ethereum long positions even as his total losses surpassed $28.8 million
- Total amount lost: Over $28.8 million
- Primary trading instruments: High-leverage Ethereum (ETH) longs and perpetuals
Corporate Treasuries Sitting on Unrealized Losses – Billions in the Balance
The current volatility in digital assets is placing unprecedented pressure on corporate balance sheets, proving that institutional treasuries are not immune to market turbulence. As Ethereum prices have retraced from peaks near $3,900 to roughly $2,400, companies that adopted the asset as a primary reserve are navigating significant paper losses.
A primary example is BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR). Under the leadership of Tom Lee, the company has aggressively pursued a strategy dubbed the “Alchemy of 5%,” accumulating over 4.37 million ETH to date. While the firm views this as a long-term play for a projected market supercycle, the recent price drop has created an unrealized paper loss of approximately $6.6 billion.
Closing Thoughts
These whale stories are a brutal reminder of just how shaky crypto wealth can be. Sure, high leverage looks great when you’re chasing profits, but it leaves you with zero margin for error. Even the pros get wrecked by the same fear and greed that trip up rookies. The hardest part in crypto could be keeping your head on straight for the long haul.
