ZachXBT Reveals the Identity of the "Hyperliquid 50x Leverage Whale", Revealing the Trader as a Cybercriminal Leveraging Stolen Funds

This individual, who has made a profit of approximately $20 million through high-leverage trades on platforms like Hyperliquid and GMX, has become a focal point of controversy in the crypto community.

In the decentralized realm of cryptocurrency, where fortunes can be made and lost rapidly, a figure known only as the “50x leverage whale” has become a subject of both fascination and controversy.

However, on-chain investigator ZachXBT has now revealed the true identity of this whale, unveiling a cybercriminal who has used stolen funds to amass a small fortune.

The trader, who has reportedly made around $20 million through high-leverage trades on platforms like Hyperliquid and GMX, has been a point of discussion in crypto circles.

The trader came into the spotlight for two major trades in March 2025. The first saw them make $10 million from a 50x leveraged Ethereum and Bitcoin long position, perfectly timed with Donald Trump’s crypto reserve announcement.

Later, they closed a 40x Bitcoin short for a profit of $9 million. Throughout this period, they engaged actively with the Hyperliquid team on Discord, showcasing their trading prowess.

While rumors circulated about ties to North Korea’s Lazarus Group due to the phishing-linked funds, ZachXBT ruled out any such connection.

Instead, the investigator traced the funds to phishing scams, a variety of malware used for draining wallets, and several shady online casinos.

ZachXBT linked the whale’s wallet addresses to platforms such as Roobet, Binance and Alphapo, as well as phishing domains like projection.fi, where users were tricked into inputting their seed phrases.

One wallet, 0x7ab8, received funds from a phishing exploit and was later used for Solana casino payouts, linked to an input validation exploit.

The analysis also revealed that the whale, operating as @qwatio on X, signed messages confirming their $20 million profits and 50x leverage.

The account appeared to be recently purchased, further raising suspicions. A UK phone number linked to payments by the whale finally identified the individual as William Parker, formerly Alistair Packover.

Parker, a convicted fraudster, was previously known for a 2009 case where he defrauded a bank and misused a University of Manchester e-mail account for illegal activities.

He was also involved in a 2014 case with a co-defendant, Andrew Hall, for hacking a U.S. brokerage firm and stealing customer data.

Moreover, Parker has a history of gambling addiction, which led to a 2017 case where he used stolen funds for online gambling at a casino in the Isle of Man.

This revelation highlights the potential risks posed by high-leveraged trading and the misuse of decentralized platforms for laundering stolen funds.

As regulators and forensic teams increase scrutiny of such activities, it remains to be seen what impact it will have on the broader cryptocurrency industry.