Trading firms maintain short positions on Bitcoin, Ethereum amid price rally

Three institutional trading firms are collectively betting more than half a billion dollars against Bitcoin and Ethereum on Hyperliquid, even as the broader crypto market rips higher and liquidates shorts left and right. Abraxas Capital, Fasanara Capital, and Wintermute hold combined short positions of approximately 3,425 BTC (worth roughly $265M) and 138,569 ETH (valued at around $338M) on the decentralized perpetuals exchange. That’s about $603M in total short exposure, with unrealized losses hitting approximately $75M as of August 24, according to on-chain data tracked by Lookonchain. Swimming against a $4B liquidation tide Between August 19 and 22, Bitcoin surged past $70,000 and touched intraday highs near $77,000. The rally wasn’t gentle about punishing the short side of the trade: over $4B in crypto short liquidations rippled across the market during that stretch. The trio’s bearish stance isn’t new territory, either. Back in July, Abraxas and Fasanara’s combined ETH shorts were reported at around $108M. They’ve since scaled up considerably, suggesting this isn’t a hedge that quietly grew out of control but rather a deliberate, expanding directional bet. Wintermute, widely r...