$6.783 billion position confrontation: Why are Hyperliquid whales' short positions far more profitable than longs?

According to the latest news, the total holdings of whales on the Hyperliquid platform have reached $6.783 billion, but an interesting phenomenon has emerged: although short positions are slightly smaller in scale, they have achieved profits far exceeding those of long positions. What market signals does this reflect?

Whale Position Structure: Slight Edge for Shorts

Based on data, the long and short positions of whales on the Hyperliquid platform show a subtle imbalance:

The long-to-short ratio is 0.93, indicating that short positions exceed long positions by approximately $258 million. More notably, the profitability of shorts far surpasses that of longs: the unrealized profit/loss of shorts is nearly five times that of longs. This suggests that whales have a significantly higher win rate or margin in their short positions.

Whales’ “Persistence” in Long Positions: 5x ETH Full-Position Bet

A particular case in the data warrants attention. Whale address 0xb317…ae opened a 5x leveraged long position when ETH was priced at $3,147.39, currently holding an unrealized profit of $18.4037 million.

According to related information, ETH is now priced at $3,238.02, meaning this 5x leveraged long is already in floating profit. This aligns with previous reports of large whales shifting from floating losses to floating gains—after ETH broke above $3,200, institutional-level holdings, including [a $230 million long position] and Trend Research, have turned profitable.

Dual Market Signals

Why are shorts more profitable?

There are several possible explanations for why short profits far exceed those of longs:

• Shorts may have been opened at more optimal times, possibly at higher levels
• The choice of assets or timeframes for short positions may be more precise
• Shorts may have better market judgment regarding corrections

Why are longs still increasing their positions?

Despite the higher profitability of shorts, whales including 0xb317…ae still choose high-leverage longs. This reflects an important signal: after ETH broke above $3,200, some whales believe the upward trend will continue and are willing to hold heavy positions.

Overall Platform Momentum Supports Long Logic

According to the latest information, Hyperliquid’s overall performance provides support for longs:

• 24-hour trading volume: $7.4 billion, ranking first among Perp DEXs
• Open interest: $8.73 billion, a two-month high
• Total Value Locked (TVL): $4.32 billion, growing concurrently

The open interest has reached a two-month high, indicating continuous inflow of new funds and increased leverage positions. Under this scenario, although longs are currently less profitable than shorts, the market participation and capital flow suggest that the long-term logic remains intact.

Summary

Hyperliquid whales’ $6.783 billion holdings present an interesting contrast: shorts are outperforming in short-term profits, while longs dominate in capital deployment and market participation. This is not simply a “shorts victory,” but reflects different market choices at various stages. The fact that longs have turned profitable after ETH broke above $3,200 indicates that whale long bets are paying off. Moving forward, attention should be paid to whether this long-short structure will reverse as prices continue to rise.