Top Traders Bet Over $1B on Falling Crypto Prices

Top Whales Are Betting $1B Against the Crypto Market

Two of the most profitable traders on the Hyperliquid platform are taking massive bets against the crypto market. Together, their short positions total more than $1.06 billion.

In crypto trading, a short position is a bet that prices will fall. If prices drop, the short seller makes a profit. If prices rise, they lose money.

As of Nov. 2, 2026, at 4:30 AM EST, Bitcoin (BTCBTC-1.15%) was trading near $78,019 (-0.02%), while EthereumETH-0.75% was at $2,289 (+0.88%). Despite market resilience, these top traders are holding firm on their bearish views.

Inside Trader 0x5b5d's $617 Million Short Portfolio

The top trader on Hyperliquid goes by the wallet address 0x5b5d...c060. According to block explorer Hypurrscan, this trader holds 22 open short positions as of 04:40 UTC on Nov. 2.

The total value of these positions is $617.5 million. The trader backs these positions with $131.2 million in account equity. This equals about 4.7x overall leverage.

Here is how this large portfolio breaks down across different assets:

• Ethereum (ETH): The largest position is short 97,460 ETH, worth $224.5 million. The entry price was $2,322.72 using 5x leverage. The liquidation price sits near $3,701, over 60% above current market prices.
• Bitcoin (BTC): The second-largest trade is short 2,320 BTC, worth $182.1 million. The entry price was $76,366. With BTC trading near $78,100, this trade is down about $4.95 million.
• SolanaSOL-1.85%: A short position worth $66.3 million.
• Zcash (ZEC): A short position worth $51.4 million, currently up by $7.93 million.
• XRP: A short position worth $19.5 million, currently up by $2.78 million.
• Hyperliquid (HYPE): The biggest losing trade is short 488,375 HYPE, worth $43.1 million, from an entry price of $71.16. It shows an unrealized loss of $8.34 million.

This trader is also shorting traditional metals like gold ($25.2 million) and silver ($17.7 million). Other altcoin shorts in the account include Worldcoin (WLD), EthenaENA-5.41%, Dogecoin (DOGEDOGE-1.25%), PUMP, and Fartcoin.

Even with heavy paper losses on the HYPE trade, the trader is adding more. Between 04:08 and 04:40 UTC on Monday, fill data shows the account opened $700,000 in new HYPE shorts.

Track Records That Command Attention

While shorting during a market recovery looks risky, this trader has a strong historical track record. Hyperliquid's public leaderboard ranks account 0x5b5d first for 30-day profit, sitting at roughly $99.1 million.

A screenshot from Hyperdash showed 30-day perpetuals profit reaching $125.8 million. Over its lifetime, the account has locked in $207.7 million in total profit on $5.93 billion in trading volume.

Past performance of digital assets or historical trading results does not guarantee future performance.

Trader #2 Adds Another $439 Million in Short Exposure

The second most profitable trader on Hyperliquid is making a similar bet against the market.

Wallet address 0xb83d...6e36 holds 30 positions worth $439.4 million in total value, backed by $105.1 million in account equity.

Here are the largest short positions held by the second trader:

• Bitcoin (BTC): Short 1,818 BTC, valued at $142.7 million.
• Ethereum (ETH): Short $84.7 million worth of ETH.
• Zcash (ZEC): Short $67.1 million worth of ZEC.
• Hyperliquid (HYPE): Short $54.7 million worth of HYPE.

Just like the top trader, wallet 0xb83d is suffering a major paper loss on HYPE. It is down about $10.7 million on that single trade.

Combined, Hyperliquid's top two traders hold $1.06 billion in short exposure across crypto tokens, precious metals, and memecoins.

Bearish Bets Meet a Resilient Market

These short positions come at a time when the crypto market is showing unexpected resilience.

The market recently absorbed the largest crypto hack on record involving Binance. Many analysts expected severe price declines, but prices held steady.

"I was wrong," admitted Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, after Bitcoin successfully held the $77,000 level three days after the Binance theft.

Traders also face upcoming volatility with U.S. midterm elections scheduled for Tuesday.

Hyperliquid's Growing Ecosystem and Leverage Safety

Meanwhile, Hyperliquid's platform presence is expanding. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)—the owner of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)—recently backed a Hyperliquid venture aimed at U.S. retail traders.

This partnership aims to bring part of Hyperliquid's $650 billion trading volume to broader retail markets.

Because both whale traders maintain relatively moderate leverage, neither account faces immediate liquidation risks. They have enough margin room to hold positions, though sudden market surges could still force changes to their strategy.