Bitcoin Whales Accumulate Long Positions Amid Prolonged Negative Funding

For two months, the biggest traders on Hyperliquid have been accumulating long bitcoin positions, and the price chart is starting to reflect this trend. According to Glassnode data, the on-chain perpetual futures exchange has seen a significant shift in whale positioning, from net short to net long, in early March, with the long bias intensifying throughout April. This shift coincides with bitcoin's gradual ascent from the mid-$60,000s in February to nearly $80,000 earlier this week. Notably, Hyperliquid has become the go-to on-chain venue for large traders over the past year, and a sustained long bias from this group tends to precede spot bitcoin price movements by days or weeks. The recent flip to net long in early March preceded the recovery from the mid-$60,000s, 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, a trend that 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 that can lead 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 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.