Bitcoin: Hyperliquid Whales Go Short for the First Time Since March

A turnaround from the big players at Hyperliquid. The whales of Hyperliquid have gone net short on Bitcoin last week, a first since March according to Glassnode. These same accounts from the leading DEX of perpetual contracts had previously bought the market dip.

Key Points

• The balance of the largest accounts on Hyperliquid for perpetual BTC has shifted to the selling side, a configuration absent since March.
• These traders had correctly bought the market low, which adds weight to their reversal.
• A short position may only be a hedge intended to capture the hourly funding paid by buyers.
• On a platform where liquidations are visible to all, a cluster of shorts can attract a squeeze.

Hyperliquid: Whales Who Bought the Dip Go Short

Glassnode tracks the cohort of the largest accounts on the platform. Their aggregated balance on perpetual BTC fell below zero last week. The previous episode dates back to March. According to data relayed by Crypto Briefing, these whales hold approximately $1.33 billion in shorts against $952 million in longs. Their net selling balance is therefore approaching $380 million. Glassnode leaves two interpretations open: a lead into a deeper correction, or a short squeeze if the price rises again.

The order book of Hyperliquid operates on its own blockchain. Every open position, every entry price, every liquidation threshold can be consulted down to the address, which no centralized exchange offers its clients.

This transparency comes at a cost. In May 2025, trader James Wynn had opened a long position of $1.25 billion on Bitcoin. On May 30, the drop of BTC below $105,000 resulted in the liquidation of over 1,000 BTC. According to The Block, his losses then reached approximately $110 million in one week. Wynn later publicly denounced the markets as "corrupt". Source: Glassnode

Bitcoin: The Value of the Short Signal from Hyperliquid Whales

The term "short" encompasses several roles. Part of the short positions simply hedge Bitcoin held in spot or via an ETF. Buying BTC spot and selling a perpetual contract allows one to collect the funding without directional betting. This payment from buyers to sellers remains positive as long as the market trends upward. Hyperliquid settles it every hour, while most centralized platforms charge it every eight hours. From Hyperliquid's perspective, this hedge does not differ from a bearish bet.

Any visible short attracts hunters. The BTC contract on the platform has several billion dollars in open interest. A cluster of short positions concentrated in the same price area thus becomes a target for those wanting to trigger liquidations. Several addresses hold more than $200 million in open shorts around $76,000, according to Crypto Briefing. With BTC close to $80,000, these positions are already at a latent loss. In March 2025, a whale had thus inflated the memecoin JELLY after having its short taken over by the HLP vault. The latter had incurred up to $12 million in latent losses, after which Hyperliquid had removed the contract.

The balance of a cohort remains an aggregate. A few highly capitalized addresses are indeed enough to tip it. Furthermore, the whales of Hyperliquid do not speak for those of Binance nor for the institutional accounts of the CME. Their recent track record nonetheless justifies monitoring them: they had taken the buying side at the lows.

According to Crypto Briefing, about $3.3 billion in short positions would become liquidable if BTC rose towards $85,000, just over 6% of the current price.

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