Key Takeaways
- Abraxas Capital built a $783 million Hyperliquid short and hedged with an ETH withdrawal on Aug. 24.
- Bitcoin’s 23% weekly surge triggered roughly $2.5 billion in BTC short liquidations since Aug. 19.
- Trump wants the Senate to pass the Clarity Act by Sept. 15, a deadline that could shape the rally’s next leg.
Whales Hold Short Positions Through the Surge
Abraxas Capital, Fasanara Capital, and Wintermute together are holding onchain short positions of 138,569 ETH and 3,425 BTC (worth $338 million and $265 million respectively). Heavily leveraged retail whales have been liquidated during the current price surge, but these market maker hedging accounts are still sitting on sizable bearish exposure that hasn’t been forced closed.
The positioning stands out because bitcoin just closed its strongest week since March 2023. The asset continues to trade near $77,500, up roughly 23% over the week gone by. Moreover, it bears mentioning that nearly $3 billion in leveraged bitcoin shorts, and $4.5 billion across the wider crypto market, were liquidated over three days, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s plan to at least double the size of long-dated bond buybacks pushed yields lower and revived appetite for risk assets.
Abraxas Doubles Down on Hyperliquid
Of the three firms, Abraxas Capital has taken the most aggressive stance, with onchain data showing the fund built roughly $783 million in short exposure on Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures contracts, while simultaneously withdrawing 73,872 ETH, worth about $173.17 million, from Binance over the prior four days to add to its hedge.
Abraxas has a track record of running large, opposing positions rather than simple directional bets, and a March analysis linked the fund’s trading pattern to its Elysium Global Arbitrage Fund, describing an established market-neutral style that pairs short derivatives exposure against separate holdings rather than wagering outright on a price decline.
Hedge or Bet Against the Rally
Wintermute and Fasanara Capital, both established crypto market makers, have carried Hyperliquid short exposure through previous bitcoin run-ups without it derailing their books. Firms of this size typically size derivatives exposure against separate spot or lending positions rather than trading on conviction alone.
Still, a rally of bitcoin’s current magnitude puts real pressure on any short position, regardless of the stated purpose, and the mark-to-market losses accumulate the same way whether the position is a hedge or a wager.
Beyond the Treasury’s bond buyback plan, President Trump met with crypto industry leaders last week and is reportedly pushing the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, the crypto market structure bill meant to set clearer trading rules for digital assets. The White House has told the Senate it wants the bill passed by Sept. 15, warning that the window narrows once the chamber returns from recess.
Lastly, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs added more than $1.9 billion in net inflows last week, their largest since January, adding another leg of demand beneath the move. Bitcoin remains below its October 2025 all-time high of $126,000, but is up sharply from a June low near $58,642.
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