While retail traders celebrate the rally, major market makers are conspicuously hedging against a reversal. On August 23, Wintermute increased its short position volume on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid from $146.19 million to $190.77 million. The daily increase amounted to approximately $44.58 million — this is a serious signal that cannot be ignored.
The structure of bearish bets is dominated by liquid assets: Ethereum ($53.02 million) and bitcoin ($30.66 million). They are followed by Solana ($22.62 million), Hyperliquid's native token — HYPE ($11.43 million), and XRP ($10.19 million). This distribution indicates that hedging is being carried out across the broadest front, rather than selectively against a single asset.
Three whales hold $603 million in shorts on BTC and ETH
Analysis of on-chain data shows that after the recent price surge, the bulk of short positions is concentrated on the hedging accounts of institutional players. These are the companies Abraxas Capital, Fasanara Capital, and Wintermute, which collectively hold 138,569 ETH (~$338 million) and 3,425 BTC (~$265 million). The total amount of liabilities reaches $603 million.
Notably, during the rally, a significant portion of small shorts was forcibly liquidated. However, these three structures held firm, confirming their institutional discipline and deep liquidity reserves. The largest unrealized loss is recorded at Abraxas — about $58 million across four positions in BTC and ETH. Fasanara is down $16.6 million, while Wintermute's figures for the two leading coins are hovering around the zero mark.
The key point is the liquidation levels. For Abraxas' Ethereum positions, they are $4,008 and $3,958; for bitcoin — $128,521 and $140,437. For Wintermute's "digital gold," the stop level is located around $251,307. These figures are far from current quotes: bitcoin is trading near $78,100, while Ethereum is around $2,500.
Let me remind you that over the week from August 17 to 23, bitcoin rose by a record $14,264, marking the strongest weekly gain in the entire history of observations. Against this backdrop, Strive CEO Matt Cole points to signs of the bear market coming to an end.
My comment: This kind of market maker behavior is not panic, but routine hedging of delta-neutral strategies. However, the fact that the largest shorts remain untouched amid such momentum indicates high confidence among institutions in an imminent correction. Retail traders should consider that the current rally may encounter serious resistance precisely at these levels.