Bitcoin Whales Accumulate Long Positions Amid Prolonged Negative Funding

Major traders on Hyperliquid have been accumulating a long position in bitcoin for the past two months, with the price trend beginning to reflect their sentiment. According to Glassnode data, the largest perpetual traders on the on-chain exchange have shifted from a net short to a net long position since early March, with the long bias intensifying throughout April. This shift has coincided with bitcoin's gradual ascent from the mid-$60,000 range in February to nearly $80,000 earlier this week. As the go-to on-chain platform for large traders, Hyperliquid's sustained long bias tends to precede spot bitcoin price movements by several days to weeks. The recent flip to net long in early March preceded the recovery from the mid-$60,000 range, with the current positioning being the most aggressively long on record. Meanwhile, bitcoin perpetual swap funding across major exchanges remains deeply negative, with shorts paying longs to maintain their positions. This negative funding has persisted for approximately 47 consecutive days, one of the longest stretches of bearish derivatives positioning on record. The combination of sustained negative funding and aggressive long positioning from Hyperliquid whales creates a technical setup ripe for short squeezes when spot prices break higher. In other news, the S&P 500 reached a record high on Friday, marking its longest weekly advance since 2024. The weekend's scheduled talks between Iran and the US were canceled, while Treasury yields dropped following the closure 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.