A Hyperliquid (HYPE) whale is refusing to close a massive short position even as the token’s rally leaves the trader sitting on more than $22 million in unrealized losses.
Key takeaways:
- HYPE’s 134% year-to-date rally, rising ETF inflows and fresh whale accumulation may deepen squeeze pressure on the short seller.
- Technical setups suggest a potential 20% pullback toward $51.5–$45.
HYPE whale increases short exposure to over $100 million
As of Thursday, the wallet ‘0x8ef…’ held a 5x cross-margin short on 1.80 million HYPE, worth about $102.98 million, with an entry price near $44.96, according to HypurrScan data.
With HYPE trading around $57.30, the position was down roughly $22.18 million. The trader had earned about $204,522 in funding, but that barely offset the growing losses as HYPE rallied nearly 8% intraday.
HYPE whale’s perpetual positions dashboard. Source: HypurrScan
The short exposure was worth about $95 million earlier on Thursday, suggesting the whale has increased its exposure despite mounting losses. It risks liquidation if the HYPE price rises to around $69.
Strong HYPE accumulation may deepen whale’s losses
HYPE has emerged as one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies so far in 2026, up about 134% compared to the crypto market’s 16% drop.
A huge chunk of those gains surfaced in May as market attention turned to newly launched US spot HYPE ETFs and Coinbase’s role as the official treasury deployer for USDC on Hyperliquid.
Since the May 12 launch, these ETFs have attracted $58.73 million amid a steady increase in daily inflows, according to data resource SoSoValue.
US spot HYPE ETFs net inflows. Source: SoSoValue
A wallet linked to Galaxy Digital bought 158,100 HYPE worth $8.8 million in two hours, while a new wallet withdrew 536,247 HYPE worth $29.87 million from Coinbase over two days, according to data resource Arkham Intelligence.
Together, they accumulated or withdrew around 694,500 HYPE, valued at nearly $38.67 million. Such moves may deepen losses for the already underwater short seller.
Related: Hyperliquid eyes 55% price rise after Silicon Valley investor’s ‘massive HYPE buy’
As of Thursday, Hyperliquid had witnessed $36.33 million in liquidations on a 24-hour rolling basis, according to CoinGlass. Shorts accounted for $34.29 million, or about 94% of the total, while long liquidations were only $2.03 million.
Hyperliquid liquidation data. Source: CoinGlass
That shows HYPE’s rally is heavily driven by forced short covering, increasing squeeze risk for the underwater whale if prices keep rising.
HYPE technicals hint at a 20% correction
HYPE’s rally is showing signs of upside exhaustion as the price tests the upper boundary of its ascending channel.
That resistance zone sits near $59–$60, the same area that marked HYPE’s September 2025 record high before plunging by over 65%.
HYPE/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView
Its daily relative strength index (RSI) has also climbed to around 77, the highest level since May 2025, putting HYPE firmly in overbought territory.
A pullback from this resistance confluence could send HYPE toward the 0.786–0.618 Fibonacci retracement range, near $51.5–$45. This range aligns with the channel’s lower trend line.
In other words, HYPE price risks a decline of up to 20% from current levels if traders start taking profits near the channel top.
The short seller would recover roughly $10.4 million–$22.1 million from current levels, though the trade would only turn profitable below the $44.96 entry price, excluding funding and fees.