2025 Hyperliquid KOL Influence Report

Original Author: Former Gate Senior Researcher Mark Lee

Preface

Hyperliquid, as a decentralized contract trading protocol rising in 2024, relies on its self-built high-performance public chain to significantly enhance trading execution efficiency and user experience. In addition to performance advantages, its core innovation lies in the deep integration of media and financial trading functions, providing a convenient following mechanism for the market by making the real-time trading behavior of top traders like James Wynn transparent through on-chain tools.

This report is based on a systematic analysis of Hyperliquid's on-chain contract trading data and associated social media interaction data, constructing a KOL influence assessment system. The research sample covers 10 leading market KOLs and their associated 100 high-activity "smart money" addresses (Note: focusing on the main public addresses of KOLs, with representative addresses as the analysis subject in cases of multiple addresses). Data collection was completed by 12:00 PM (UTC+8) on August 10, 2025.

1. KOL On-Chain Trading Influence

This report begins by focusing on quantifying the on-chain trading influence of Hyperliquid KOLs. For traders, the effectiveness of their strategies can be objectively measured through key performance indicators, including trading win rate, cumulative profit, trading frequency, and capital scale. This chapter will systematically collect and analyze on-chain data across these core dimensions, aiming to provide a panoramic depiction of each target KOL's trading behavior patterns and strategy characteristics, laying a data foundation for subsequent comprehensive influence analysis.

1.1 KOL Trading Profit Ranking

Hyperliquid KOL Total Trading Profit Ranking

Due to fluctuations in the costs incurred by traders, the difficulty of profit margin statistics is high. Observing from the total trading profit perspective, The White Whale significantly outperforms other well-known KOLs. Hyperdash data shows that its four associated addresses have accumulated profits exceeding $30 million. In contrast, the profits of other profitable KOLs have not surpassed $2 million. It is noteworthy that some well-known KOLs (such as James Wynn, qwatio, and Aguila Trades) have accumulated losses exceeding $10 million. This indicates that high-leverage contract trading carries a high risk of liquidation, making actual profit difficult, and traders need to maintain a cautious attitude.

1.2 KOL Trading Win Rate Ranking

Hyperliquid KOL Trading Win Rate Ranking

From the win rate perspective, over half of the KOLs have an on-chain contract trading win rate of less than 50%, confirming the high difficulty characteristics of contract trading. Among them, Machi Big Brother and vladilena.eth recorded a 100% win rate, but their trading frequency is relatively low, limiting statistical significance. For investors, The White Whale is a target with sustained tracking value. Data shows that its four associated addresses completed over 1,000 trades in 2025, with a win rate of 72.8%, performing outstandingly among similar traders. In contrast, some high-profile KOLs, such as James Wynn and qwatio, have relatively poor win rate performance. This further illustrates that high-leverage contract trading carries a high risk of liquidation, making actual profit difficult, and traders need to maintain a cautious attitude.

1.3 KOL's Preferred Trading Assets

Hyperliquid KOL's Preferred Trading Assets

The price trends of different tokens are driven by multiple factors such as fundamentals, liquidity, and news, showing significant differences. Therefore, each KOL typically has specific trading targets they excel in. A typical example is James Wynn: his breakout trade was building a position in PEPE at a cost of $7,000, ultimately achieving over $25 million in profit through swing trading. In terms of contract trading, PEPE is also his core profit asset—accumulating profits exceeding $20 million through high-leverage operations. It is important to note that his account losses mainly stem from the extremely low win rates in BTC and ETH contract trading. In contrast, the whale The White Whale primarily focuses on ETH, achieving over $20 million in profits through strategic positions.

1.4 KOL Contract Holding Time

Hyperliquid KOL Contract Holding Time

Funding rates are one of the core cost components for cryptocurrency contract traders. Taking Hyperliquid as an example, it settles funding rates every 8 hours, with the dominant position paying the disadvantaged side. Therefore, the longer the holding time, the higher the accumulated funding rate cost, which also reflects the trader's strong confidence in the mid-term trend of the asset.

Data shows that James Wynn has the longest average holding period in the statistical sample, reaching 77 hours. His representative trade is a high-leverage PEPE contract, held for over 1,455 hours (about 60 days), ultimately yielding approximately $25 million in profit. In contrast, AiRev has the shortest average holding period, at only 6.5 hours.

For contract investors, the importance of the time dimension often surpasses that of the underlying asset itself. Under high leverage, extending the holding time not only increases capital costs but also significantly amplifies the risk of liquidation. Given that the crypto market operates 24/7, short-term price fluctuations can easily lead to liquidation of positions that are not closed in time. Therefore, ultra-short-term investors may refer to the strategies of AiRev and The White Whale; while investors inclined to capture mid-term trends may focus on James Wynn's long-holding strategy.

1.5 KOL Long and Short Trading Cumulative Profit

Hyperliquid KOL Long and Short Trading Profit

In the bullish environment of the cryptocurrency market in 2025, the difficulty of profiting from high-leverage short strategies has significantly increased. Statistical data shows that among the sample KOLs, only izebel achieved positive returns by shorting ETH, while most others recorded losses in short contracts. It is noteworthy that even the whale The White Whale, which has accumulated profits exceeding $30 million, did not generate positive returns from its short trades. In contrast, qwatio, known as "50x Brother," suffered heavy losses in short contracts, with cumulative losses exceeding $30 million in 2025, making its long profits seem trivial.

1.6 KOL Asset Scale Ranking

Hyperliquid KOL Current Asset Scale

Data shows that some KOLs in the statistical sample have transferred their main assets out of their current wallet addresses, resulting in on-chain asset balances of less than $1,000. It is expected that such KOLs may use new addresses for future operations. From the perspective of asset scale, currently only The White Whale and Machi Big Brother meet the "whale" standard, while other KOLs have relatively limited asset scales on Hyperliquid. It is worth noting that, similar to traditional fund managers, managing larger amounts of capital usually means higher costs for strategy execution and risk management.

Hyperliquid KOL Asset Scale Peak

Tracing historical data reveals that several KOLs' main addresses once managed assets exceeding $10 million. Typical examples include James Wynn, AguilaTrades, and qwatio, whose address fund peaks reached $84.2 million, $33.67 million, and $13.68 million, respectively. It is noteworthy that the current on-chain assets of all three have fallen below $1,000. It is worth investigating that these three KOLs are precisely the top three traders in terms of cumulative losses in the previous section (Chapter 1.1). Significant losses may lead these KOLs to choose to start anew using a new wallet address or to completely exit the Hyperliquid contract trading market.

1.7 Hyperliquid Anonymous Smart Money and Anonymous Whale Addresses

Hyperliquid Anonymous Smart Money Trading Addresses and Trading Data

Table 9: Hyperliquid Anonymous Whale Trading Addresses and Trading Data

Anonymous smart money addresses and whale addresses have the potential to become KOLs with sufficient influence on social media. In fact, the on-chain address 0x175e7023e8dc93d0c044852685ac33e856b577b4 has already become a focus of attention from social media accounts such as Lookonchain, Onchain Lens, and Ai Yi. Due to its high win rate and large capital volume, its every move has effectively acted as a KOL, influencing the trading behavior of retail investors without being bound to a personal IP.

Focusing on KOLs with bound personal IPs, two typical persona strategies can be observed: "Loss-making Whales" and "High Win Rate Smart Money." The former attracts market attention by shaping a narrative of "massive wealth fluctuations" (e.g., "the fall of the rich"), leveraging dramatic events; the latter centers on verifiable high win rates, enticing investors to follow in hopes of replicating their excess returns. It is worth emphasizing that The White Whale has successfully broken through the common "scale curse" in asset management, combining top-tier asset scale with high win rates, thus becoming a benchmark IP in the Hyperliquid ecosystem that possesses both influence and profitability.

2. Social Media Account Influence

2.1 Hyperliquid KOL Social Media Data

Hyperliquid KOL Social Media Data as of January 1, 2025

Note: The White Whale established its account in July 2025, and its follower data was included in the LunarCrush website statistics on July 28, 2025. qwatio and vladilena.eth were not included in the LunarCrush website statistics due to their personal social media accounts having fewer followers.

Hyperliquid KOL Social Media Data as of August 10, 2025

YTD Growth of Major KOLs in 2025

YTD Growth Rate of Major KOLs in 2025

Data shows that James Wynn is undoubtedly the KOL with the fastest fan growth in 2025, with his fan base increasing by over 14 times, and his exposure and interaction rates on the X platform have also significantly risen. Although The White Whale registered a new X account in July, it attracted over 5,300 followers in its first month, with its social media influence continuing to expand. Additionally, KOLs like AguilaTrades and izebel_eth also recorded significant follower growth.

Notably, there is a cross-industry influence case: former professional taekwondo athlete Andrew Tate has accumulated over 10 million followers with fitness content. Although his account has broad influence, the proportion of cryptocurrency-related content is very low, with the core audience focused on non-crypto areas. This stands in stark contrast to vertical KOLs primarily engaged in cryptocurrency.

2.2 Hyperliquid KOL Social Media Personas

To become a sufficiently influential trader on social media platforms, having advantages in capital volume or trading win rates is not enough; a complete persona enhances fan stickiness, and a legendary story can gain greater exposure. Many on-chain KOLs in Hyperliquid have their own complete personas, some are ambitious genius traders, some are grassroots trading prodigies, and others are technical experts deeply involved in coding. The following introduces some representative KOL personas.

2.2.1 James Wynn, the Genius Trader from a Small Town

James Wynn is currently the most legendary trader on-chain, hailing from a forgotten small town in England, where cryptocurrency trading changed his life. In 2022, James Wynn first encountered cryptocurrency, and being not wealthy, he could only become one of the "10 U War Gods" (investing $10 in each trade). In 2023, James Wynn established his personal Twitter account, continuously promoting PEPE-related content. In April 2023, James Wynn predicted that PEPE would rise from a market cap of $4.2 million to $4.2 billion. As is well known, James Wynn became the biggest beneficiary of PEPE's rise, and his social media account's popularity soared.

As a small-town youth, the successful James Wynn still maintains the persona of an "anti-capitalist fighter." In a tweet on July 17, he questioned the American banking system, suggesting everyone choose USD 1 instead of banks. Moreover, James Wynn has posted multiple tweets criticizing the old order and old systems.

James Wynn's tweets about banks

2.2.2 The White Whale, the Evangelist of Rational Investment

As mentioned above, The White Whale is one of the few trading masters among on-chain KOLs who has overcome the "scale curse." The White Whale only established his personal X account in July 2025. As a successful trader, his X account showcases more of his "Dao" of cryptocurrency trading rather than "skills." Although The White Whale occasionally expresses irrational thoughts, his image is closer to that of a wise elder compared to other KOLs. The White Whale enjoys sharing his understanding of investment and his views on the future trends of ETH and SOL, repeatedly emphasizing that traders should reduce irrational trading and analyze data with a rational attitude to achieve reasonable trading judgments.

Figure 2: The White Whale's tweets about rational trading

2.2.3 izebel_eth, the Crypto Pioneer Skilled in Technical Analysis

izebeleth is a distinctive Hyperliquid on-chain KOL who excels in technical analysis when making trading decisions, using indicators such as trading volume, moving averages, and support and resistance levels to determine whether to go long or short. Additionally, izebeleth frequently uses anime and meme images on his social media account to express emotions related to missed trading opportunities or successful trades. Compared to other KOLs, his X account content resembles that of a two-dimensional blogger. Furthermore, izebeleth is very adept at reviewing past trades, formulating new trading plans based on previous failures. Many high-quality contents created by izebeleth have also been shared by mainstream blockchain media.

izebel_eth's tweets about technical analysis

2.2.4 AiRev, the Inarticulate GameFi Enthusiast

Among cryptocurrency KOLs, izebel_eth and AiRev are the two with the highest intensity of online surfing. However, unlike many KOL bloggers with a strong desire for expression, AiRev tends to retweet content from other X bloggers and only speaks up when mentioned by others. AiRev is also one of the few bloggers who actively responds after Lookonchain discloses his trades. Beyond trading, AiRev has retweeted a large amount of GameFi-related content, with card game Parallel being mentioned multiple times. Perhaps for him, trading is just a tool for making money, while gaming is his greatest passion.

AiRev's response to Lookonchain's tweet

2.2.5 Machi Big Brother, the Crypto Veteran Who Was Once a Hip-Hop Artist

Machi Big Brother, the social media ID of Taiwanese-American singer Huang Licheng, is one of the few opinion leaders (KOLs) with a real identity in the on-chain trading field and is also a rare Chinese KOL on the Hyperliquid platform. He entered the cryptocurrency field in 2017 and can be considered a senior veteran compared to other traders. Before engaging in on-chain trading on Hyperliquid, Machi Big Brother dubbed himself the "Chairman of Bored Apes," frequently gifting NFTs to friends in the entertainment industry and actively promoting the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). However, after the NFT bubble burst in 2022, the NFT-related content on his account decreased. Machi Big Brother is a staunch supporter of ETH, frequently mentioning ETH-related topics on his social media.

3. Summary of KOL Influence

This article divides KOL influence into two dimensions: first, the trading dimension, which includes parameters such as trading success rate, number of trades, capital scale, and cumulative profit. Second, the social media dimension, which involves the absolute number of follower growth and the month-on-month growth rate of followers.

Comprehensive On-Chain Trading Influence of KOLs

Comprehensive Social Media Influence of KOLs

In summary, this study constructs a comprehensive influence assessment matrix based on the analysis of KOLs on the Hyperliquid platform, focusing on two dimensions: social media influence and on-chain trading performance. As shown in the figure, The White Whale significantly leads in the on-chain trading dimension, demonstrating strong capital scale and trading win rates; while in the social media dimension, James Wynn holds a relative advantage, reflecting higher community attention and content dissemination effectiveness.

Table 16: Hyperliquid KOL Influence Coordinate Chart

Hyperliquid KOL Comprehensive Influence Ranking

By comprehensively evaluating the two core indicators of on-chain trading influence and social media influence (with the influence index calculated as influence = trading influence × social media influence), the top three rankings are James Wynn, The White Whale, and Machi Big Brother. It is noteworthy that The White Whale, due to its later account registration, has relatively insufficient social media accumulation, resulting in a slight disadvantage in this score, which affects its overall ranking.

Hyperliquid has become an important platform for top cryptocurrency traders to amplify their voices and enhance their industry influence. However, even with successful accumulation of attention on-chain, establishing a true opinion leader status in the crypto world still requires long-term efforts in two aspects: continuous and in-depth community operation, and maintaining high win rates in on-chain trading. Only by deeply cultivating trading strength and community trust can one transcend cycles and truly stand at the center of industry discourse.

4. Sources:

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