Galaxy Digital and Wintermute Load Up on HYPE Shorts Amid Impending Token Unlock

Two prominent market makers, Wintermute and Galaxy Digital, have accumulated significant short positions against Hyperliquid's native token HYPE. On-chain data shows that as of September 6, 2026, Wintermute holds $99.82M in shorts versus only $5.12M in longs, a ratio of roughly 19.5-to-1. Meanwhile, Galaxy Digital has $26.41M in shorts against $6.21M in longs, a ratio of approximately 4.25-to-1.

This bearish positioning is not without losses, however. Neither desk has been rewarded for this positioning over the trailing 30-day window. Wintermute is down $15.30M, while Galaxy Digital is down $5.96M, resulting in total 30-day losses of $21.26M.

The continued build-up of shorts suggests conviction rather than reactive positioning. The most likely near-term catalyst behind this bearish stance is a HYPE token unlock scheduled for around September 6 that will release approximately 9.92 million tokens, valued at around $820M at current prices.