Bitcoin Whales Accumulate Long Positions Amid Prolonged Negative Funding

For the past two months, the biggest traders on Hyperliquid have been establishing a long position in bitcoin, and the price chart is beginning to reflect their influence. 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 so, 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 high near $80,000. 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 days to weeks. The early March shift 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, a trend that has persisted for approximately 47 consecutive days, one of the longest periods of bearish derivatives positioning on record. The combination of sustained negative funding and aggressive long positioning by Hyperliquid whales creates a technical setup that can lead to short squeezes when spot prices rise. 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 in Pakistan did not take place, and Treasury yields dropped after the Justice Department closed its investigation 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.