Key Takeaways
- Hyperliquid’s top trader 0x5b5d holds $617.5M in shorts across 22 markets, led by $224M in ETH.
- A second whale, 0xb83d, is short $439M, bringing the pair’s combined bearish exposure to about $1.06B.
- The 0x5b5d account is up $99.1M this month but still faces an $8.3M paper loss on its HYPE short.
Short Everything Seems to Be the New Mantra
Crypto trackers flagged a position showing the largest whale on Hyperliquid shorting more than $610 million across 22 coins. In simple terms, a short position profits when prices fall.
Live account data on block explorer Hypurrscan identified the trader as wallet 0x5b5d…c060 and, as of 04:40 UTC on Nov. 2, noted that the individual held 22 open positions worth $617.5 million in notional value, backed by about $131.2 million in account equity. That works out to roughly 4.7x leverage overall.
Inside the $617 Million Book
- Ether is the largest bet, and the account is short about 97,460 ETH, worth $224.5 million, from an average entry of $2,322.72 at 5x leverage. Its liquidation price sits near $3,701, more than 60% above where ETH trades now.
- Bitcoin is next, with a short of about 2,320 BTC worth $182.1 million from an entry of $76,366. That position is down about $4.95 million with BTC trading near $78,100. The book also holds a $66.3 million SOL short, a $51.4 million ZEC short up $7.93 million, and a $19.5 million XRP short up $2.78 million.
- The biggest problem position is HYPE, Hyperliquid’s own token, as the trader is short about 488,375 HYPE, worth $43.1 million, from $71.16. It shows an unrealized loss of $8.34 million.
- Other listed shorts include those on gold, worth $25.2 million, and silver, worth $17.7 million. The trader is also short WLD, ENA, DOGE, PUMP and Fartcoin.
The losing HYPE trade hasn’t scared the account off. Fill data shows it opened more HYPE shorts worth about $700,000 between 04:08 and 04:40 UTC on Monday.
Track Records That Get Attention
The account doesn’t look like a reckless gambler because Hyperliquid’s public trader leaderboard ranks it first for monthly profit, with about $99.1 million over 30 days. Its all-time profit is roughly $207.7 million on $5.93 billion in trading volume. The Hyperdash screenshot put its 30-day perps profit at $125.8 million.
The No. 2 trader on the same leaderboard has made a similar bet. To elaborate, wallet 0xb83d…6e36 holds 30 positions worth $439.4 million, on about $105.1 million in equity. Its largest shorts include:
- 1,818 BTC worth $142.7 million
- $84.7 million in ETH
- $67.1 million in ZEC
- $54.7 million in HYPE
- Like the top account, it is losing on HYPE, down about $10.7 million on that trade.
Taken together, the two accounts that made the most money on Hyperliquid this month are short about $1.06 billion in crypto, metals and memecoin exposure.
Bearish Bets Against a Resilient Market
The shorts come as the market has held up better than many expected after the largest crypto hack on record. Even Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards, who had turned bearish, admitted that he was “wrong” after bitcoin held $77,000 three days after the Binance theft.
The whales also face a crowded trading week with U.S. midterm elections coming up Tuesday, while Hyperliquid’s own profile keeps growing after Intercontinental Exchange backed a Hyperliquid venture aimed at U.S. retail traders. Moderate leverage gives both accounts room to wait, since none of their main shorts are close to liquidation.
