James Fickel, whose fortune is estimated to be around $400 million, recently lost over $40 million due to a series of leveraged trades. Fickel's investment strategy involved betting on Ethereum (ETH) while shorting Bitcoin (BTC). He accomplished this by borrowing Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) through Aave and converting it to Ethereum. Between January 10 and July 1, he lent 3,061 wBTC worth about $172 million and exchanged it for 56,445 ETH. According to reports, the average exchange rate during this period was about 0.054 wBTC per ETH. However, since the beginning of August, Fickel has been closing this position, repaying his debt at a substantial loss. He redeemed 882 wBTC using $12 million in USDC and 16,000 ETH worth about $39.9 million, reaching an average exchange rate of 0.042 ETH/BTC. His remaining wBTC debt on Aave now stands at 2,196 wBTC worth over $132 million, indicating a loss of about $43.7 million.