Onchain investigator ZachXBT disclosed that he had uncovered the enigmatic whale who gained $20 million through heavily leveraged transactions on Hyperliquid and GMX, identifying him as a British hacker named William Parker.
Per ZachXBT’s March 20 X update, Parker — formerly recognized as Alistair Packover before altering his name — was apprehended last year for reportedly appropriating roughly $1 million from two gambling establishments in 2023.
Parker also garnered media attention a decade prior due to accusations of hacking and gambling, ZachXBT mentioned.
“It is undeniably evident that WP/AP has not absorbed his experiences over the years post-incarceration for fraud and is likely to persist in gambling,” ZachXBT stated.
Source: ZachXBT
Related: Hyperliquid increases margin requirements following $4 million liquidation loss
ZachXBT indicated that his conclusions are founded on a phone number disclosed by an individual who allegedly received a transfer from the whale trader’s wallet address.
He further mentioned that public wallet addresses linked to the whale trader had received funds from previous onchain phishing scams.
Cointelegraph has not independently verified the assertions made by ZachXBT.
Enormous leveraged wagers
The unidentified whale gained notoriety after realizing approximately $20 million in profits from highly leveraged trades — in some instances with leverage up to 50x — on decentralized perpetuals exchanges Hyperliquid and GMX.
On March 12, the trader deliberately liquidated a long position of approximately $200 million in Ether (ETH), leading to a $4 million loss for Hyperliquid’s liquidity pool due to liquidation.
Concurrently, the whale secured profits amounting to approximately $1.8 million.
Hyperliquid clarified that the liquidation was not a result of an exploit but rather a predictable outcome of the trading platform’s operations under extreme circumstances. The DEX subsequently updated its collateral regulations for traders with existing positions to prevent similar incidents in the future.
On March 14, the whale engaged in another multimillion-long bet, this time on Chainlink (LINK).
Perpetual futures, or “perps,” are leveraged futures agreements that lack an expiration date. Traders deposit margin collateral — typically USDC (USDC) for Hyperliquid — to secure open positions.
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