For the past two months, the biggest traders on Hyperliquid have been building a substantial long position in bitcoin, and recent price movements are beginning to reflect this trend. According to Glassnode data, the largest traders on the on-chain perpetual futures 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 a recent high near $80,000.
Notably, Hyperliquid has become the go-to platform for large traders over the past year, and a sustained long bias from these traders often precedes spot bitcoin price movements by several days to weeks. The current positioning is the most aggressively long on record, and the flip to net long in early March preceded the recovery from the mid-$60,000s.
Meanwhile, bitcoin perpetual swap funding across major exchanges remains negative at -0.13% on a seven-day basis, according to Coinglass, indicating that shorts are paying longs to maintain their positions. This negative funding has persisted for approximately 47 consecutive days, marking 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 that can lead to short squeezes when spot prices break higher.
In other news, the S&P 500 reached a record high on Friday, capping its longest weekly advance since 2024. The scheduled talks between Iran and the US in Pakistan did not take place, and Treasury yields dropped after the Justice Department closed its 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 the Hyperliquid long positions will become clearer in the coming hours and days.