Large Investors Increase Long Positions in Bitcoin as Funding Remains Negative

For the past two months, major traders on Hyperliquid have been accumulating long positions in bitcoin, and the price trend is now starting to reflect this. According to Glassnode data, the largest traders on Hyperliquid shifted from a net short to a net long position in early March and have maintained this stance ever since, with the long bias growing stronger throughout April. This shift coincides with bitcoin's gradual rise from the mid-$60,000s in February to nearly $80,000 earlier this week. As the go-to on-chain platform for large traders over the past year, a sustained long bias from this group often precedes spot bitcoin price movements by days or weeks. The early March shift to a net long position preceded the recovery from the mid-$60,000s, and the current positioning is the most aggressively long on record. Meanwhile, the seven-day funding rate for bitcoin perpetual swaps across major exchanges is -0.13%, indicating that shorts are paying longs to maintain their positions. This negative funding 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 gain since 2024. Additionally, the recent US-Iran talks in Pakistan were canceled, and Treasury yields fell 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.