Institutional Traders Bet Big on Bitcoin and Ethereum Drop

Three prominent institutional trading firms, Abraxas Capital, Fasanara Capital, and Wintermute, still hold significant short positions against Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), despite recent price surges. According to on-chain records from Hyperliquid, these entities collectively maintain open short positions worth over $600 million.

The largest short position is held by Abraxas Capital, with a negative unrealized balance of $58 million. Fasanara Capital reported a negative unrealized balance of $16.6 million, while Wintermute's short positions were opened at levels that place its contracts near breakeven margins or with slight operational gains.

Abraxas Capital also executed spot market hedges through simultaneous withdrawals of 73,872 ETH from Binance over a four-day period, valued at $173.17 million. This hedging strategy aims to capture yields from positive perpetual funding rates while neutralizing directional exposure with physical assets held in custody.

Hyperliquid generated more than $6 million in daily fees during the reporting period, coinciding with the all-time high reached by its native token HYPE at $83.27 and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to the asset reaching $360.39 million in net assets.