Bitcoin Whales Accumulate Long Positions Amid Prolonged Negative Funding

Large traders on Hyperliquid have been steadily accumulating long bitcoin positions over the past two months, with the price chart beginning to reflect their bullish sentiment. According to Glassnode data, the whale positioning on Hyperliquid, a prominent on-chain perpetual futures exchange, shifted from net short to net long in early March and has remained long since, with the long bias intensifying throughout April. This shift coincides with bitcoin's gradual ascent from the mid-$60,000 range in February to a recent brush with $80,000. Notably, Hyperliquid has become the preferred on-chain venue for large traders over the past year, and a sustained long bias from this group often precedes spot bitcoin price movements by several days to weeks. The early March flip to net long preceded the recovery from the mid-$60,000s, and the current positioning is the most aggressively long on record. Meanwhile, bitcoin perpetual swap funding across major exchanges remains negative, with shorts paying longs to maintain their positions, at -0.13% on a seven-day basis according to Coinglass. This negative funding has persisted for approximately 47 consecutive days, one of the longest recorded stretches of bearish derivatives positioning. The combination of sustained negative funding and aggressive long positioning by Hyperliquid whales creates a technical setup prone to short squeezes when spot prices break higher. In other news, the S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday, marking its longest weekly advance since 2024. The weekend's scheduled talks between Iran and the US did not take place, and Treasury yields dropped following the conclusion of the Justice Department's probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, potentially paving the way for Kevin Warsh's confirmation as the next Fed leader. The impact of these developments on Hyperliquid's long positions will become clearer in the coming hours and days.