Bitcoin Whales Establish Significant Long Positions Amid Prolonged Negative Funding

For two months, the largest traders on Hyperliquid have been accumulating long positions in bitcoin, and the market is 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 size of their long bias increasing throughout April. This shift coincides with bitcoin's steady rise from the mid-$60,000 range 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 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 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 by 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 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 Hyperliquid's long positions will become clearer in the coming hours and days.