Hyperliquid whales are adding to their $BTC shorts. Their net positioning turned short 2 weeks ago after 7 months of being long. Short exposure is now the largest since October 2025. The last time they were this short, price moved down considerably.
$BTC has rarely tracked equities this closely. Over the last 30 US sessions, the correlation with the S&P 500 reached 0.80. Since 2020 it has spent most of its time far below that. Despite the talk of bitcoin's relative strength, macro sets the direction for now.
Leverage grew through the $BTC selloff. Open interest climbed by about $1B during the US session drop, and by almost $500M more into today's US session. Funding cooled slightly but is now ramping up again. Longs look to be stepping back in.
Short-term holders are back underwater. Yesterday's drop pushed about 60% of the $BTC held by recent buyers below its cost basis. A day earlier, they were back in profit. For now, that lowers the risk of recent buyers cashing out into strength.
