Large traders on the decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid are ramping up leveraged bets on Bitcoin and Ethereum as BTC rebounds toward the $71,000 level, with many positioning for a potential breakout above $75,000.
Activity on the perpetual futures platform shows crypto traders growing increasingly aggressive with leveraged long positions after bitcoin’s strong rally earlier this week. The leading cryptocurrency climbed to around $71,000 on Tuesday after opening near $65,000 when futures trading resumed Sunday evening.
The surge has revived expectations that bitcoin could revisit recent highs after briefly failing to hold gains near $74,000 last week.
On-chain data indicates that several large traders — commonly known as whales — have opened substantial leveraged long positions on Hyperliquid as prices push higher.
One trader currently holds combined long exposure to bitcoin and ether valued at roughly $194 million, with unrealized profit and loss standing near $6.5 million. Another wallet has built about $103 million in long positions spread across several trading pairs, signaling a broader bet on a crypto market breakout rather than a rally led solely by major tokens.
Positions on Hyperliquid are typically opened with leverage, allowing traders to control much larger trades relative to their capital. In one case, a wallet used 20x leverage to establish a series of positions — meaning a $1 million account could command a $20 million bitcoin trade. The trader opened 20x leveraged longs on 600 BTC worth about $42.5 million while also taking a 20x long position on 20,000 ETH valued at roughly $41.2 million.
The same whale also appears to be accumulating ether in spot markets. Blockchain data shows the address spent $21 million in USDC to purchase 10,158 ETH at an average price of $2,067 shortly before opening the derivatives positions.
The emergence of multiple nine-figure long positions suggests traders are increasingly confident the current rally could turn into a sustained breakout rather than another short-lived bull trap like the one seen last week.
Not every trader shares that outlook. A separate wallet, identified as 0x985f, has taken a different macro approach. The address deposited $9.5 million in USDC into Hyperliquid within a five-hour span before opening 20x leveraged short positions tied to oil markets, including roughly $8.17 million in crude oil contracts and $6.15 million in Brent oil futures.
That same trader also opened short positions across several crypto tokens — including HYPE, PUMP, XPL, APT and ASTER — indicating a bearish stance on select altcoins even as large traders continue to pile into bullish positions on bitcoin and ether.
The activity highlights how decentralized derivatives platforms such as Hyperliquid have become a key arena for large leveraged bets during periods of strong bitcoin momentum.
A move above $75,000 could force short sellers to cover their positions and accelerate the rally, while a reversal lower would quickly test the conviction of traders currently holding massive leveraged longs.
