Bitcoin Whales Establish Strong Long Positions Amid Prolonged Negative Funding

Over the past two months, the largest traders on Hyperliquid have been consistently building their long positions in bitcoin, and recent price movements suggest this trend may be gaining momentum. According to data from Glassnode, the whale positioning on Hyperliquid, a prominent on-chain perpetual futures exchange, shifted from a net short to a net long position in early March and has remained long ever since, with the long bias intensifying throughout April. This shift coincides with bitcoin's gradual increase from the mid-$60,000 range in February to nearly $80,000 earlier this week. Hyperliquid has become the go-to on-chain venue for large traders over the past year, and a sustained long bias from this group often precedes spot bitcoin price movements by several days to 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, bitcoin perpetual swap funding across major exchanges remains 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 rise. In other news, the S&P 500 reached a record high on Friday, marking its longest weekly advance since 2024. However, the scheduled talks between Iran and the US over the weekend did not take place, and the impact of these developments on Hyperliquid's long positions will become clearer in the coming hours and days.