Popular trader AguilaTrades lost more than $35M in a span of only two weeks by trading Bitcoin perpetuals and this can be used to warn against leveraged trading. With 39.18M USDC sent from Bybit to Hyperliquid, the Aguila tried to make multiple high-leverage trades using Bitcoin (BTC), they all ended up being disastrous.
The following is an analysis of the way the AguilaTrades’ losses were incurred.
June 8: Transfer to Hyperliquid Begins
To begin, AguilaTrades initialized the procedure by creating a new wallet and transferring substantial amounts of money through Bybit to Hyperliquid to trade BTC perpetuals. The total amount of money transferred amounted to 39.18M USDC.
June 9: First BTC Long Ends in $12.47M Loss
On June 9, Aguila took a long position on BTC and continued to add them it as Bitcoin soared in price. His unrealized profits reached a point where he was sitting on a profit amounting to $5.76M. Nevertheless, he proceeded to enhance his exposure in preference to earning profits.
This took a negative twist as there was some geopolitical tension, especially caused by the conflict between Israel and Iran. BTC dropped sharply, and Aguila was forced to close the position, locking away a mind-boggling $12.47M loss.
June 15: Second Long Trade Ends in $2.95M Loss
The initial failure notwithstanding, AguilaTrades opened another long position on June 15. The tactic once more was to begin pyramiding into the trade as BTC rose. This time, the profits were unrealized up to the point of $10M, but he did not close the trade.
It promptly dipped back soon afterward, and Aguila was forced to exit at a loss of $2.95M rather than another chance to take a huge profit out on the table.
June 20: Third Long Trade Results in $17M Loss
Aguila tried another long on June 20 with the hope that the bounce in Bitcoin would persist. He was almost, temporarily, right in his bet when the account showed that he had $3.2M of unrealized gains.
However, as before, the market reversed prior to realizing the profits. BTC plummeted and Aguila had to shut it down with his most devastating ever loss of over $17M in one trade. At this point, the wallet had experienced multiple failures of coming out of winning positions.
June 22–23: Switch to Short Backfires, $2.33M Unrealized Loss
With three back-to-back losing trades, Aguila reversed his position and went short on BTC with approximately 25x leverage and a position size of approximately $102M. But Bitcoin rebounded unexpectedly, causing him to fall underwater.
The account currently has an unrealized loss of 2.33M, as of June 23, and it is not clear whether the short can ever turn around. He is now using the margin of over 124%, so he is in real bad trouble, nearing to liquidation with no profits coming out.
Key Lessons from AguilaTrades’ Collapse
The case of AguilaTrades presents important lessons to traders. He never took profits even in cases with huge unrealized profits. He had been using FOMO entries and was increasing positions in rallies, which caused poor average prices. Worse, most importantly, his almost 25x leverage multiplied tiny market fluctuations into huge losses. It is a stark lesson to remember to take care of risk, take profits where possible, and exercise leverage carefully.
