Crypto Perp Traders Flock to AI Stocks as Hedge Funds Short the Pile-On

Crypto traders who once chased meme coins are now piling into AI and semiconductor stocks through perpetual futures on exchanges like Hyperliquid. The shift pushed daily volume on contracts tracking SK Hynix, Micron Technology, and SanDisk Corp above $8 billion last week alone, according to data from tracker hl.eco. That is a market that barely existed at the start of the year.

The mechanics look familiar. An anonymous X account flags an under-the-radar name. Followers pile into long positions on perpetual contracts that never expire, using up to 20 times leverage. Buying feeds buying. The same feedback loop that inflated obscure tokens to billion-dollar market caps is now pushing AI stocks higher.

Rahul Patel, a crypto founder who moved from trading meme coins to betting on AI equities, described the difference in a Bloomberg profile. "You can sleep on your bags," Patel said. "Memecoins, for the longest time, you haven't been able to sleep on your bags." He cited revenue, production targets, and clear catalysts – things meme coins rarely offered.

Hedge funds see a different opportunity. They are shorting the same perpetuals on crypto exchanges to collect the funding rate that long-position holders pay when demand becomes one-sided. South Korea-based Hyperithm sources shares of names like SK Hynix through local prime brokers, then shorts the perps to capture those payments, CEO Sangrok Oh told Bloomberg. "Retail demand creates the gaps," Oh said, "and institutionalization narrows some of them." He added the inefficiencies remain structurally present for firms with superior models as long as markets stay fragmented.

The strategy works as long as retail demand keeps pushing long positions and the funding rate stays elevated. Leverage magnifies both sides of the trade. When too many traders crowd one side, a small move against them forces selling that pushes prices lower and triggers more selling. That is the same feedback loop that destroyed leveraged crypto positions, now playing out in AI stocks.

Jukan Choe, an analyst at Citrini Research, called the pattern unsustainable. "I think it's a very unhealthy kind of trading," Choe told Bloomberg. "That kind of share price rally isn't based on fundamentals – it's a tower of liquidity built up by retail investors, so after a while, it's almost bound to collapse quickly."

The setup mirrors the crypto-credit cycles of earlier years. A one-sided trade supported by leverage, funded by retail inflows, and targeted by sophisticated shorts. The difference this time is that the underlying assets have revenue, production targets, and actual market share – factors that could theoretically justify the rally. The speed of the inflows and the concentrated nature of the positioning suggest the risk of a sharp reversal is real.

AlphaScala's risk model assigns Micron Technology, one of the three stocks driving the bulk of the perp volume, an Alpha Score of 71 out of 100. That moderate reading reflects the stock's earnings momentum and its exposure to the AI buildout. The score does not account for the derivative activity on Hyperliquid, which operates outside traditional exchange oversight.

In a separate development not directly tied to the perp trade, Circle bought nearly 1,000 IBM blockchain patents, Reuters reported, making it the largest U.S. holder of the technology and strengthening its USDC stablecoin business. The deal adds a layer of intellectual property protection for Circle’s dollar-backed token as the company prepares for a public listing.

Patel summed up the retail conviction simply. "It's a lot better of an experience," he said. Whether that experience holds depends on how long the liquidity tower stands.