Onchain sleuth ZachXBT said he had identified the mysterious whale who profited $20 million from highly leveraged trades on Hyperliquid and GMX as a British hacker going by the name William Parker.
According to ZachXBT’s March 20 X post, Parker — who was previously known as Alistair Packover before changing his name — was arrested last year for allegedly stealing around $1 million from two casinos in 2023.
Parker also made headlines a decade ago for allegations of hacking and gambling, ZachXBT said.
“It is abundantly clear WP/AP has not learned his lesson over the years after serving time for fraud and will likely continue gambling,” ZachXBT said.
ZachXBT said his findings are based on a phone number provided by a person who allegedly received a payment from the whale trader’s wallet address.
He also said that public wallet addresses associated with the whale trader received proceeds from past onchain phishing schemes.
Cointelegraph has not independently verified ZachXBT’s claims.
Massive leveraged bets
The mysterious whale rose to prominence after profiting approximately $20 million from highly leveraged trades — in some cases with up to 50x leverage — on decentralized perpetuals exchanges Hyperliquid and GMX.
On March 12, the trader intentionally liquidated an approximately $200 million Ether (ETH) long, causing Hyperliquid’s liquidity pool to lose $4 million.
Meanwhile, the whale earned profits of some $1.8 million.
Hyperliquid said the liquidation was not an exploit but rather a predictable consequence of how the trading platform operates under extreme conditions. The DEX later revised its collateral rules for traders with open positions to guard against such occurrences in the future.
Perpetual futures, or “perps,” are leveraged futures contracts with no expiry date. Traders deposit margin collateral — typically USDC (USDC) for Hyperliquid — to secure open positions.
The UK has re-established diplomatic ties with Syria, David Lammy has said, as he made the first visit to the country by a British minister for 14 years.
The foreign secretary visited Damascus and met with interim president Ahmed al Sharaa, also the leader of the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and foreign minister Asaad al Shaibani.
In a statement, Mr Lammy said a “stable Syria is in the UK’s interests” and added: “I’ve seen first-hand the remarkable progress Syrians have made in rebuilding their lives and their country.
“After over a decade of conflict, there is renewed hope for the Syrian people.
“The UK is re-establishing diplomatic relations because it is in our interests to support the new government to deliver their commitment to build a stable, more secure and prosperous future for all Syrians.”
Image: Foreign Secretary David Lammy with Syria’s interim president Ahmed al Sharaa in Damascus. Pic: X / @DavidLammy
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also announced a £94.5m support package for urgent humanitarian aid and to support the country’s long-term recovery, after a number of British sanctions against the country were lifted in April.
While HTS is still classified as a proscribed terror group, Sir Keir Starmer said last year that it could be removed from the list.
The Syrian president’s office also said on Saturday that the president and Mr Lammy discussed co-operation, as well as the latest developments in the Middle East.
Since Assad fled Syria in December, a transitional government headed by Mr al Sharaa was announced in March and a number of western countries have restored ties.
In May, US President Donald Trump said the United States would lift long-standing sanctions on Syria and normalise relations during a speech at the US-Saudi investment conference.
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From May: Trump says US will end sanctions for Syria
He said he wanted to give the country “a chance at peace” and added: “There is a new government that will hopefully succeed.
“I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”
Secret Service quietly amasses one of the world’s largest crypto cold wallets with $400 million seized, exposing scams through blockchain sleuthing and VPN missteps.