Key Takeaways:
- Hyperliquid hit a record $248 billion in May perps volume, up 51.5% month-on-month.
- Hyperliquid’s market share climbed to 10.54% of Binance’s perps volume.
- Trader James Wynn lost $100 million after a high-leverage Hyperliquid bet collapsed during a sudden Bitcoin downturn.
Onchain perpetual futures platform Hyperliquid notched a record-breaking $248 billion in monthly trading volume for May, a 51.5% jump from April’s $187.5 billion, as market interest surged during the so-called “James Wynn” trading frenzy.
The year-on-year growth is even more striking. Just 12 months ago, Hyperliquid saw $26.3 billion in volume, making this May’s total an 843% increase.
The platform’s rapid rise highlights its growing dominance in the onchain perps space, offering centralized exchange-like performance while keeping traders on crypto-native rails.
Hyperliquid’s growing footprint is increasingly visible against long-standing giant Binance.
In May, Hyperliquid’s monthly perps volume reached 10.54% of Binance’s—a new record.
That ratio, up from April’s 9.76%, is fast becoming a key gauge of market share shifts across the sector.
Key drivers of Hyperliquid’s momentum include its CEX-grade user experience combined with non-custodial infrastructure, plus its popular Season 2 points campaign.
The campaign attracted fresh trader inflows following a well-received Season 1 airdrop.
The broader trend is also reflected in the share of decentralized exchange (DEX) futures volume compared to CEX volumes.
In May, DEX perps captured 6.84% of global perpetual flows, slightly below February’s record of 7.06%. For 2025, the average sits at 6.7%, a marked climb from under 2% in 2022.
With onchain infrastructure continuing to close the gap—through improved liquidity, tighter spreads, and native stablecoin on-ramps—the DEX share of global perp flow appears poised to break into double digits before year-end.
James Wynn Loses $100M in Days
James Wynn, a pseudonymous crypto trader known for turning meme coin bets into millions, revealed he lost $100 million within days after a failed series of leveraged trades on Hyperliquid.
Wynn, who first rose to prominence by turning a $7,000 position in PEPE into $25 million, recently shared the story on X.
In March, Wynn began trading perpetual futures for the first time and quickly transformed a $3 million position into $100 million through aggressive high-leverage plays.
His rapid success attracted major online attention, with traders closely tracking his onchain moves.
However, Wynn admitted the growing spotlight distorted his decision-making.
In a post, he said the trading “spiraled out of control” as he became increasingly reckless, acknowledging he wasn’t treating the rising numbers seriously.
By mid-May, Wynn had built a $1.25 billion long position on Bitcoin, using up to 40x leverage.
When a tweet from former U.S. President Trump triggered a sharp market downturn, Bitcoin fell below Wynn’s liquidation level, wiping out nearly his entire position.
The dramatic collapse has since divided the crypto community, turning Wynn into both a cautionary tale and a controversial figure.
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