Mega Crypto Whale, James Wynn, Who Bet $1 Billion on Bitcoin Goes Long on Pepe

James Wynn, the mega crypto trader who recently opened a $1.25 billion Bitcoin position, has turned his attention to PEPE, one of the first influential meme tokens. The trade has ignited a 50% increase in Pepe's volume, with the price of the memecoin also reacting.

James Wynn Opens $19.38 Million Pepe Position

James Wynn, a mega crypto trader known for his bold crypto bets, has just taken another bold move. Wynn, who recently opened a Bitcoin position of over $1.25 billion, has now gone long on Pepe.

According to on-chain data, the crypto whale withdrew $28 million worth of USDC, then opened multiple long PEPE positions worth approximately $19.38 million. The average price of Wynn's Pepe position is $0.0139.

James Wynn's Portfolio. Source: Hypurrscan

Wynn shared posts on X, formerly Twitter, showing some of his PEPE positions with a 10x leverage. According to one of his posts, Wynn is "Up $200k in just a few hours." He adds that while there is the itch to open up to $1 billion worth of Pepe positions, he won't do it. 

Source: James Wynn on X

Wynn, who admits to being a high-volume leveraged trader, has 40x leverage on a large BTC investment. The total worth of this high-leverage position is more than $85 million.

Why the Crypto Whale is Going Long on PEPE

James Wynn is popular for making very profitable memecoin trades. Wynn reportedly made about $4.8 million from Fartcoin in the past and $6.8 million from Trump. Previously, the crypto trader made over $26 million on a $PEPE long on HyperLiquid, Onchain Lens reported. 

His current bet on PEPE is noteworthy because there appears to be a major move around the corner. On May 8, $PEPE broke out of a long-term consolidation range. 

Since that breakout, the price of $PEPE has increased by almost 90%. The memecoin hit an initial peak of $0.000014 before pulling back and forming a higher low around $0.000013. 

PEPE Price Chart. Source: TradingView

Although PEPE's price has gone down recently, signs indicate it could push higher again soon. With PEPE holding above 20 EMA and 50 SMA, the PEPE price appears to be targeting the $0.000017 level for its next leg up, which would represent a 20% jump. 

If $PEPE clears a resistance at $0.000017, the next major hurdle lies around $0.000020 – $0.000021, a price range it last saw around December 2024. While these are just predictions and nothing certain, James Wynn's PEPE position comes at a time when the memecoin looks set to rally.

Pepe Price and Volume Pumps Amidst Short Squeeze

James Wynn's trade comes amidst a Pepe short squeeze. Many traders have been loading PEPE onto high levels of short positions, especially on Binance. More than 23% of PEPE activity is concentrated on Binance.

The volume of $PEPE has increased by more than 38% to reach $2.53 billion. Per CoinGlass, the open interest of PEPE has also soared by 10.52% and currently stands at over $591.9 million.

Source: CoinGlass

As these on-chain metrics rise, the price of $PEPE has also soared. In the last 24 hours, Pepe has recorded a price increase of more than 7%. The recent price surge now puts the price of PEPE at $0.0000193.