Big Brother Maqi's $45 million has gone to zero! From hip-hop king to high-leverage gambler's blood and tears story

Taiwanese singer Brother Magji Huang Licheng’s complete journey from a peak of 45 million USD to total loss witnesses the rise and fall of an era’s trend chaser. On November 4th, he used the remaining $16,700 on the Hyperliquid platform to open a 25x leveraged long position of 100 ETH. After 24 hours, liquidation struck again, leaving his account balance at only $1,718.

From Hip-Hop Pioneer to Tech Entrepreneur

Three decades ago, Brother Magji stood in the true spotlight. That was Taiwan in the 1990s, when hip-hop culture was just entering the Chinese-speaking world. Huang Licheng, leader of the earliest Chinese hip-hop boy band L.A. Boyz, controlled the stage, the audience’s rhythm, and the era’s pop trend. Born in Yunlin, Taiwan, in 1972, Huang immigrated to California with his family at age 2. In 1991, he and his brother Huang Lixing and cousin Lin Zhiwen formed L.A. Boyz, returning to Taiwan’s music scene with a mix of Chinese and English vocals and American street style, sweeping across the island.

L.A. Boyz debuted in 1992, releasing 13 albums and becoming wildly popular. But as Taiwan’s music scene shifted towards “lyrical songs” in the late 90s, their flashy hip-hop style gradually lost mainstream favor. The group disbanded in 1997, after which Brother Magji gradually turned to business and behind-the-scenes work, venturing into tech entrepreneurship. In 2003, he founded Maji Entertainment, engaging in music production and artist management.

In 2015, Brother Magji and a tech partner founded 17 Media, with the flagship product “17 Live App,” focusing on real-time video social interaction. The app quickly gained popularity in Taiwan, attracting millions of users, with a valuation reaching tens of billions TWD, and investments from Wang Sihong, LeEco Sports, and others. In 2017, 17 Media merged with social app Paktor to form M17 Entertainment, rebranding as 17LIVE. In 2018, 17 Media attempted an IPO on the NYSE but canceled at the last minute. The company later shifted focus to Japan, and in 2021, Brother Magji resigned from all positions and exited management.

Three Crypto Harvests: MITH, Cream, BOBAOPPA

Brother Magji saw opportunity again during the 2017 ICO crypto boom. In February 2018, he led the launch of Mithril (MITH), a blockchain project emphasizing “social mining.” The private sale raised $51.6 million. After listing on centralized exchanges, MITH’s price surged temporarily, but within three months, the team sold 89% of the circulating supply, causing an 80% crash. The price then plummeted over 99%, and in 2022, it was delisted from Binance and other platforms, approaching zero. Mithril established Brother Magji’s early reputation as a “crypto scythe.”

In July 2020, during DeFi Summer, he quickly launched the lending protocol Cream Finance. As a fork of Compound, Cream supported more niche assets, reaching a TVL of over $1 billion at its peak. However, in 2021, Cream Finance suffered at least 5 hacker attacks, losing over $200 million. Under trust crisis and technical vulnerabilities, Brother Magji handed control of the protocol to Yearn founder Andre Cronje and stepped back from daily operations.

In 2024, the Solana-based meme project Boba Oppa ($BOBAOPPA) emerged. It raised over 200,000 SOL (worth over $40 million) in presale within 24 hours, but on launch day, the token price dropped over 70%. He also moved some funds into DeFi staking protocols, performing another classic “big cut.” Boba Oppa later attempted burns and other bullish maneuvers, but ultimately faded into the sea of memes, approaching zero.

Hyperliquid Death Spiral: 47 Days from Peak to Zero

(Source: Arkham)

In 2025, during Hyperliquid’s high transparency, under public scrutiny and media coverage, the “strategic whale” perhaps felt excitement again. In June, he made over $6.5 million profit by precisely trading HYPE positions; in July, his total long positions on Hyperliquid soared to $126 million, making him a top whale. However, his stubborn bullish stance on pump projects caused monthly losses exceeding $10 million.

In August, the market suddenly turned, then rebounded sharply, creating a rollercoaster of gains and losses. Early in the month, his unrealized loss on PUMP reached $9.94 million; mid-month, ETH rebounded, and his unrealized profit briefly exceeded $30 million. On August 13th, he decisively closed all positions, locking in $33.83 million profit. But he quickly reversed to short ETH, only to be “counter-killed” by market rebound, wiping out most profits.

In September, Brother Magji reduced leverage to 15x and traded actively. By September 19th, his unrealized profit hit a peak of nearly $45 million—his all-time high on Hyperliquid. But peaks often mark turning points. In late September, ETH, HYPE, and PUMP all declined sharply, causing his core positions to turn into losses, with a maximum drawdown over $20 million. To avoid liquidation, he added $4.72 million USDC margin on September 25th.

Timeline from Peak to Zero on Hyperliquid

June: $6.5 million unrealized profit on HYPE positions

July: Long positions grow to $126 million; PUMP losses exceed $10 million

August 13: Locked in $33.83 million profit, then short ETH and got counter-killed

September 19: Unrealized profit peaks at $45 million

October 10: Single-day loss of $21.53 million, account turns from profit to loss

November 3: 25x ETH long position fully liquidated, loss of $15 million

November 5: Account balance drops to only $1,718, completely wiped out

October marked the beginning of total collapse. The nearly $45 million unrealized profit at the peak vanished within 20 days. By October 9th, the account’s profit shrank to about $1 million. The next day, he was forced to close other positions, suffering a $21.53 million loss, turning his account from profit to loss. Throughout October, he fell into a “death spiral”: market declines → high leverage longs near liquidation → deposit to top up → liquidation again → reopen positions. By October 31st, total losses reached $14.5 million.

November brought no miracles. On November 3rd, his 25x ETH long was fully liquidated, losing $15 million. On November 4th, his Hyperliquid account balance was only $16,771. Yet he chose to re-enter—using this remaining capital to open a 25x long of 100 ETH. After 24 hours, liquidation occurred again. Early on November 5th, the account balance was just $1,718, and everything was wiped out.

Shared Fate and Repetition of Whales

On the same day Brother Magji suffered heavy losses, several “insider whales” with 100% win streaks on Hyperliquid—who had won 14 consecutive times—were liquidated or closed positions. Their accounts, once over $25 million in profit, fell to a net loss of $30.02 million, leaving about $1.4 million. He then reversed to short positions, but the market rebounded, leaving his current account at only $570,000. Meanwhile, former Hyperliquid top influencer whale James Wayne, who once made over $43 million with high leverage, was also liquidated in a market crash, losing all principal.

Now, they all continue to leverage small positions, pushing the boundaries again. Although this is a “story of zero,” we have no doubt that “serial entrepreneurs” like Brother Magji likely have some means to scrape together a bit of principal to keep trading. In this story, they are like Sisyphus pushing the boulder uphill again and again, forever trapped in the cycle, heading toward new peaks.

Brother Magji is arguably one of the most vivid footnotes of the crypto era. He actively and quickly dives into every wealth opportunity, only to escape shortly after, moving on to the next gold rush. In crypto, each hot trend’s life cycle is compressed to the extreme. Once, creating a beautiful white paper, telling a convincing story, and polishing a product prototype took time before a project could list and cash out. Later, posting a contract address on social media and rallying “fools” to send money became the norm.

The ultimate irony is—there will always be another Brother Magji in crypto who hits zero, and many still aspire to be him.