Abraxas, Fasanara and Wintermute Keep $600M BTC-ETH Shorts Alive

The losses on the books do not necessarily signal a failed bearish thesis. Abraxas has roughly $58 million in unrealized losses across four positions but has not closed them. Fasanara sits 18.87% underwater on a $74.81 million Ether short using 15x leverage. Wintermute remains marginally profitable on both Bitcoin and Ether. The shorts appear tied to market-making and hedging activity rather than outright directional wagers, several traders said. Onchain Lens separately tracked Wintermute increasing its Hyperliquid short exposure from $146.19 million to $190.77 million, adding about $44.58 million even as the broader rally continued squeezing weaker participants.

Abraxas has gone further, building roughly $783 million in short exposure on Hyperliquid while withdrawing 73,872 Ether worth about $173.17 million from Binance over four days to reinforce its hedge. The firm has previously been associated with market-neutral strategies that pair derivatives shorts against separate spot or OTC holdings. The broader picture is one of sophisticated risk management operating inside an unusually aggressive rally. Bitcoin gained about 23% over the week, nearly $3 billion in leveraged BTC shorts were liquidated over three days, and spot ETFs added more than $1.9 billion. Yet these institutional books remain positioned for continued volatility across Bitcoin and Ether markets this week, with no indication of forced closing.