From PEPE to YEPE: James Wynn’s Risky Meme Coin Moves Raise Eyebrows

Blockchain analytics firm Bubblemap highlighted fresh concerns around James Wynn’s activities in the meme coin market. Wynn’s history of turning small meme coin bets into massive profits may repeat with the latest YEPE meme coin.

But insider dominance is evident.

Bubblemap Reveals Pattern

According to the analysis by Bubblemap, insiders currently hold roughly 60% of YEPE, and a significant portion of these holdings are coming from addresses funded through the same centralized exchanges, LBank, KuCoin, and MEXC. These addresses reportedly exhibit similar funding behaviors and buying patterns, which point to coordinated or highly structured accumulation strategies.

Bubblemap argued that the recurring pattern behind Wynn’s meme coin promotions is one of manufactured hype, and often amplified by coordinated influencer campaigns that help fuel demand at launch. On-chain data reveals that these surges typically benefit a small group of insiders, who consistently accumulate and hold a large share of the token supply.

Despite the growing criticism of such moves and the concerns it raises around potential market manipulation, Wynn has continued to build visibility within the industry and has also received public endorsements from high-profile figures, including Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.

For many observers, such backing risks normalizing practices that resemble insider-driven trading activity, blurring the line between aggressive promotion and outright manipulation in the meme coin sector.

The Wynn Effect

Wynn, a pseudonymous crypto trader who rose to prominence between 2022 and 2023 through early investments in meme coins, has a history of using high leverage and aggressive trading techniques. His breakout moment came when he transformed a modest $7,000 investment in PEPE into a multimillion-dollar gain. That trade established hallmarks of his approach, which are high-leverage positions, bold risk-taking, and a narrative-driven strategy, often promoted publicly on social media.

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Since then, Wynn has repeatedly entered the market with similarly structured trades, promoting bundled meme coins like WIFE, ZEUS, and USDM, sometimes leveraging decentralized derivatives platforms such as Hyperliquid to magnify returns. In early 2025, Wynn’s activity on Hyperliquid drew attention, as he executed positions with leverage up to 40x on notional amounts reaching billions of dollars.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, however, cast doubt on Wynn’s high-profile trades and even questioned whether the pseudonymous investor’s real aim is profit or simply attention. In a discussion shared by Unchained host Laura Shin, Hayes said that Wynn’s actions looked more like “airdrop farming” than billion-dollar Bitcoin bets.

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