Bitcoin Whales Accumulate Long Positions Amid Prolonged Negative Funding

Major traders on Hyperliquid have been building a long position in bitcoin for two months, and the price trend is starting to reflect this. According to Glassnode data, whale positioning on the on-chain perpetual futures exchange shifted from net short to net long in early March and has remained long since, with the long bias growing stronger through April. This shift coincides with bitcoin's gradual increase from the mid-$60,000s in February to nearly $80,000 earlier this week. Hyperliquid has become the go-to on-chain platform for large traders over the past year, and a sustained long bias from these traders 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 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, one of the longest periods of bearish derivatives positioning on record. The combination of sustained negative funding and aggressive long positioning from Hyperliquid whales can lead to short squeezes when spot prices rise. In other news, the S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday, marking its longest weekly advance since 2024. The scheduled talks between Iran and the US over the weekend 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.