- ZachXBT identifies William Parker as the trader behind the $20 million profit on Hyperliquid and GMX.
- Parker’s high-leverage trades caused a $4 million loss to Hyperliquid’s vault.
- Parker’s criminal history, including theft and fraud, ties into his DeFi activities.
In March 2025, blockchain investigator ZachXBT uncovered the identity of the mysterious whale responsible for a significant $20 million profit on the Hyperliquid and GMX decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. The trader, William Parker, is now facing attention not only for his trading strategies but also due to his alleged criminal past. The funds located in wallet 0xe4d3 had substantial market impact due to its highly leveraged positions across both platforms.
The DeFi community and public gained interest in Parker’s aggressive trading moves especially after he opened 50X leveraged long positions on Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC). After he incurred severe losses on Hyperliquid, authorities examined all his trades while raising questions about Hyperliquid’s security systems and risk control measures.
Tracing the Whale’s Leverage Trades
ZachXBT’s investigation into Parker’s trading history revealed a pattern of high-leverage positions, some of which had drastic consequences. For instance, Parker took a $200 million long position on ETH, causing a $4 million loss in Hyperliquid’s vault. The incident prompted speculation about a potential hack, though the platform clarified that no breach had occurred. Instead, the loss resulted from the trader withdrawing funds and reducing margin levels. The transaction ultimately earned Parker $1.8 million, while the vault lost millions.
Further tracing by ZachXBT revealed that Parker was linked to several other notable DeFi players, such as Roobet and Binance, through various wallet addresses. The connections indicated a broader network of activity, suggesting that Parker’s trading was not an isolated event but part of a larger financial ecosystem.
Criminal History and DeFi Involvement
ZachXBT’s investigation also uncovered Parker’s criminal past, identifying him under the alias Alistair Packover. In 2023, Parker was convicted for fraudulently stealing one million dollars after he deployed hacking methods and phishing tactics against casinos. His unlawful conduct started in the early 2010s as he participated in numerous hacking and fraud incidents across UK territory.
In 2017 Parker utilized a vulnerability in a Solana-based casino game to steal funds that he then used to invest in Hyperliquid which generated a $20 million profit. The timeline further connects his criminal activities to the suspicious trades observed on-chain, raising concerns about the intersection of criminal behavior and decentralized finance.
Hyperliquid’s Response to the Incident
Following the loss on its platform, Hyperliquid introduced significant changes to its risk management policies. The platform adjusted its leverage restrictions for both Ethereum and Bitcoin through limitation of maximum leverages to 40x for BTC and 25x for ETH.
The implemented measures seek to minimize potential risks from high-leverage trades with substantial borrowed capital while working to sustain the platform throughout future trading activities.
