Overview
- Lookonchain and reporting on Monday identified Abraxas Capital, Fasanara Capital, and Wintermute holding roughly 3,425 BTC and 138,569 ETH in short positions on Hyperliquid, equal to about $603 million in notional exposure.
- Abraxas appears to run the largest single book with roughly $598 million across two wallets and has moved $173.17 million of ETH off Binance, a move reporters interpret as a spot hedge against its ETH shorts.
- The trio carried about $75 million in combined unrealized losses as of August 24, but their automatic liquidation prices sit far above current market levels so immediate forced sells are unlikely without a sustained, much larger rally.
- Some of the positions reflect funding-rate arbitrage and market-making hedges in which firms short perpetual futures while holding spot to collect periodic payments, a tactic that explains repeated cycling of large short books since mid-2025.
- A rapid rally between August 19 and 22 wiped out billions in retail and whale shorts, and because these institutional books are on-chain and visible, their size and liquidation metadata have become focal points for traders watching for squeezes or strategic pressure.