For two months, the largest traders on Hyperliquid have been steadily accumulating long positions in bitcoin, and the price trend is beginning to reflect their bias. According to Glassnode data, the whale positioning on Hyperliquid, a prominent on-chain perpetual futures exchange, shifted from net short to net long in early March and has remained long ever since, with the long bias intensifying throughout April.
This shift coincides with bitcoin's gradual ascent from the mid-$60,000 range in February to a recent brush with $80,000. Historically, Hyperliquid has become the preferred on-chain platform for large traders, and a sustained long bias from this group often precedes spot bitcoin price movements by several days to weeks.
The early March flip 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 stands 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, marking 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 break higher. In other news, the S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday, capping its longest weekly advance since 2024.
The weekend's US-Iran talks in Pakistan did not take place as planned, after President Donald Trump canceled his delegation's trip following the Iranian foreign minister's departure. Additionally, Treasury yields dropped 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.