Machi Doubles Down on Meme Coins—With a Side of Caution?

Well-known crypto trader Machi Big Brother (or just @machibigbrother to most) is back in the spotlight, this time jumping into meme tokens $PUMP and $HYPE with 5x leverage. It’s not his biggest play—far from it—but it’s got people talking. Maybe because, compared to his other bets, this one feels almost… restrained?

Then again, “restrained” isn’t the word you’d use for his Ethereum and Bitcoin positions. Those are sitting at 25x and 40x leverage, respectively. And right now, they’re deep in the red—about $5.7 million underwater, according to on-chain data. Ouch.

Why Meme Coins Now?

$PUMP and $HYPE aren’t exactly new, but they’ve been picking up steam again lately. Retail traders seem to be circling back, drawn by the kind of wild price swings that either make your week or ruin it. Machi’s move here is interesting—5x leverage isn’t nothing, but it’s nowhere near the risk he’s taking with BTC and ETH.

Is he hedging? Diversifying? Or just throwing a little speculative cash at tokens that could pop (or drop) in a matter of hours? Hard to say. But it’s a shift from his usual high-stakes plays.

The Bigger (and Riskier) Bets

Let’s not forget the elephant in the room: those massive leveraged positions on Ethereum and Bitcoin. Forty times leverage on BTC is the kind of move that either ends in a victory lap or a very public liquidation. Right now, it’s not looking great—$5.7 million down is a brutal paper loss.

The thing about leverage that high is that the market doesn’t need to move much to wipe you out. A few bad hours, and suddenly, the whole position is gone. Machi’s been around long enough to know that, of course. But knowing and surviving are two different things.

What This Means for the Market

Traders like Machi don’t just move their own money—they move sentiment. When someone with his track record (and following) makes a play, others pay attention. Sometimes too much attention. A big liquidation could spook the market, just like a big win could fuel more speculation.

For now, though, the meme coin angle is what’s getting chatter. $PUMP and $HYPE aren’t exactly blue-chip assets, but they’ve got the volatility that traders love—or love to hate. Machi’s dipping a toe in, but his real exposure is still very much in BTC and ETH. Whether that’s smart or reckless depends entirely on what happens next.

One thing’s for sure: nobody’s bored.