Two high-profile leveraged crypto positions have swung into the green this week, reflecting a sharp recovery in Bitcoin and Ether markets and renewed activity on decentralized perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid.
Garrett Jin, founder of the now-defunct exchange BitForex, is seeing his 1,268 BTC long position valued around $97 million move to an unrealized gain of more than $500,000, according to Lookonchain. The same position had been underwater by over $22 million earlier in the year. BitForex collapsed amid fraud and mismanagement allegations, leaving users unable to withdraw funds, and Jin remains a central figure in the fallout. Lookonchain’s data shows the position was opened in early 2024 and held through deep drawdowns.
Separately, on-chain data highlighted by Lookonchain shows trader Machi Big Brother turned $152,000 into $12.72 million in just three days on Hyperliquid. HypurrScan data shows the account held about $12.9 million, nearly all in USDC, while carrying roughly $103 million in open long positions: $52.4 million in Bitcoin, $44.9 million in Ether, and $6.1 million in Hyperliquid’s HYPE token. The portfolio was entirely net long with a margin ratio of 14.41%. Ether’s price surged almost 30% over seven days, while ETH 24-hour futures open interest reached $33.18 billion.
Hyperliquid accounted for $12.19 billion in 24-hour perpetual futures volume on August 22, almost 30% of the $40.79 billion traded across all perp DEXs that day. The exchange’s liquidation mechanics explain the risk: liquidation begins when account equity falls below maintenance margin, set at 50% of initial margin; maximum leverage ranges from 3x to 40x; and positions over 100,000 USDC are liquidated in 20% increments with 30-second pauses.
Machi has been liquidated nearly 500 times, according to Lookonchain, and previously faced $80.43 million in total losses since September 2025, according to Arkham data. Lookonchain noted Machi no longer needs to sell his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs to keep the longs open. Galaxy Research associate Zack Pokorny cautioned that futures open interest figures do not represent an absolute amount of leverage. Machi’s own description of the strategy was succinct: “I’m longing my longs.”
