Crypto traders on perpetual exchange Hyperliquid are placing increasingly aggressive leveraged bets that Bitcoin will surpass $75,000 after a strong rally earlier this week.
Bitcoin climbed to around $71,000 on Tuesday, up from around $65,000 when BTC futures opened Sunday evening. The move reignited calls for a retest of recent highs after being rejected near $74,000 last week.
Onchain data shows that several large traders – often referred to as “whales” – are opening highly leveraged long positions on Hyperliquid as prices rise.
A trader holds ether (ETH) and bitcoin long positions worth $194 million with unrealized profits and losses amounting to approximately $6.5 million. Another account holds $103 million in long positions across a multitude of trading pairs, betting on a broader crypto breakout rather than a rally dominated by the bigs.
Hyperliquid positions are typically opened with leverage, allowing traders to amplify their exposure. One wallet, for example, opened a series of trades using 20x leverage, meaning a $1 million account could control a $20 million Bitcoin position. This trader opened 20x leveraged long positions on 600 BTC worth approximately $42.5 million while simultaneously taking a 20x long position on 20,000 ETH worth approximately $41.2 million.
The whale also appears to be accumulating ether in spot markets. Data shows that 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.
Other nine-figure long positions demonstrate one thing: crypto traders are confident that this breakout will last and not be a bull trap like last week.
A separate portfolio, 0x985f, takes a different macro position. The address deposited $9.5 million in USDC into Hyperliquid within a five-hour time frame before opening 20x leveraged short positions in oil futures, including approximately $8.17 million in crude oil (CL) contracts and $6.15 million in Brent oil.
The same trader also opened short positions in several crypto tokens, including HYPE, PUMP,
The positioning highlights how decentralized derivatives platforms such as Hyperliquid have become a hub for large leveraged bets during periods of strong bitcoin momentum.
A break above $75,000 could force short sellers to cover and accelerate the rally, while a decline would quickly test the conviction of traders piling into nine-figure leveraged long positions.
