Bitcoin Investors with Significant Holdings Increase Their Long-Term Positions Amid Prolonged Negative Funding

For two months, major traders on Hyperliquid have been accumulating long positions in bitcoin, and the price trend is starting to reflect this movement. According to Glassnode data, the positioning of whales on Hyperliquid, a platform for on-chain perpetual futures, shifted from net short to net long in early March and has remained long since, with the long bias intensifying 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 preferred on-chain venue for large position traders over the past year, and a sustained long bias from this group tends to precede spot bitcoin price movements by days to weeks rather than follow them. 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. The seven-day bitcoin perpetual swap funding across major exchanges is -0.13% 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 creates a technical setup that can lead to short squeezes when spot prices rise. Meanwhile, in traditional finance, 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, as President Donald Trump canceled his delegation's trip after the Iranian foreign minister left the country before the US group departed. Treasury yields declined as the Justice Department concluded 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.