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Yayang Syarif Hidayat31 August 2026, 23:25 WIB
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Yayang Syarif Hidayat
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Annual funding yields reached 8.7% on a seven-day average, attracting major market makers.
JAKARTA – Several large trading firms established hundreds of millions of dollars in short positions as Bitcoin surged last week. These positions were not a bet that prices would fall.
Quoted from CoinDesk, Abraxas Capital, Fasanara Capital, and Wintermute were among them. All three accumulated short positions in perpetual contracts on the on-chain derivatives exchange Hyperliquid.
Lookonchain data shows their combined position reached 138,569 ETH, valued at approximately US$338 million.
Their Bitcoin short position was recorded at 3,425 BTC, or about US$265 million. The total across both assets exceeded US$600 million.
Concurrently, Abraxas withdrew spot assets from centralized exchanges. As the company withdrew 73,872 ETH from Binance in four days
This was valued at approximately US$173 million. The combination of these two actions explains their strategy.
It is called cash-and-carry, or more commonly known as basis trade. Traders hold a spot asset while simultaneously shorting an equivalent amount in perpetuals.
The two positions cancel each other out, resulting in near-zero exposure to price movements. The profit comes from the funding rate.
Perpetual contracts are futures contracts without an expiry date. The funding rate is used to keep their price close to the spot price.
Payments flow from long position holders to short holders during bullish markets. Withdrawing spot assets from exchanges is not a sign of panic.
Instead, this action indicates that their positions are truly hedged, not naked shorts. This opportunity only reopened this month.
Glassnode data shows that Bitcoin’s funding rates were suppressed or negative from February to July. The market had fallen from a record high above US$120,000 at that time.
Leveraged long positions were continuously unwound during this period. When longs do not pay shorts, this strategy stops generating returns.
In conditions of negative funding, maintaining such positions even incurs costs. Last week’s price surge changed the equation overnight.
Bitcoin soared from around US$62,000 to over US$77,000 in a matter of days. This movement wiped out US$3 billion from leveraged short sellers.
The pressure to close positions pushed funding rates back into positive territory. The window for basis traders reopened.
The rates are now at a level worth considering. As quoted by Coinglass, Bitcoin’s funding rate is approximately 0.01% every eight hours.
Coinalyze data notes an aggregate funding rate of about 0.0109% per hour for Bitcoin. For Ether, the figure is 0.0087% per hour.
The annual yield is in the upper single-digit range. The Aegis protocol reported a 30-day average of 6.7% on August 24.
The seven-day average reached 8.7%. For companies of this size, even single-digit yields are nominally significant.
This strategy demands a substantial balance sheet and adequate operational infrastructure. 21shares Capital Markets believes that Bitcoin basis is lucrative, but its funding is still at standard levels.
This means the strategy is attractive but not yet overheated. Similar opportunities are now spreading to other assets.
Solana is among those showing high carry, according to the institution’s records. One point needs clarification regarding open interest.
The basis strategy actually increases open interest, rather than decreasing it. Every basis position includes a short on perpetuals, which is recorded as an open contract.
Glassnode data shows that Bitcoin futures open interest on CME has risen recently, moving from around 87,000 BTC to 122,000 BTC.
Aggregate open interest in Ether perpetuals also climbed to US$14 billion, a level not seen in several months.
The previous decline in open interest occurred during a different phase, when shorts were forced to close amid price surges.
Not all institutional players are playing neutral. CryptoQuant data shows that hedge funds on CME have flipped net long.
This development is rare. Structurally, the basis strategy positions this group as short.
The shift indicates that some players are making directional bets, not just harvesting carry. Some traders warn that this condition remains fragile.
Funding is positive, but prices have not moved significantly higher. If positions turn bullish before prices confirm, a decline could liquidate long holders.
Conversely, a breakout upwards would force shorts to chase prices. An accumulation of leveraged longs also increases the chance of a sharp correction if momentum stalls.
Such disruptions could damage basis positions from both sides. Bitcoin traded around US$78,000 early this week.
Source: www.idnfinancials.com
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