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Crypto trading firms earn funding yield on bitcoin rally via shorts

Firms including Abraxas Capital, Fasanara Capital, and Wintermute hold short perpetual positions totaling 3,425 BTC and 138,569 ETH, while Abraxas pulled 73,872 ETH off Binance in four days.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Market Structure

Bitcoin’s rebound back above $80,000 is driving a wave of cash-and-carry trading, where firms monetize bullish funding rates instead of taking a directional view, according to CoinDesk.

Onchain data tracked by Lookonchain shows that Abraxas Capital, Fasanara Capital, and Wintermute collectively hold short positions of 138,569 ETH, about $338 million, and 3,425 BTC, about $265 million, on Hyperliquid.

The approach hinges on pairing spot holdings with offsetting perpetual futures shorts to reduce price exposure, while earning funding payments when funding remains positive and elevated during bull phases. CoinDesk cited Aegis data showing the 30-day average BTC perpetual funding rate at 6.7% annualized on Aug. 24, and a 7-day average at 8.7%.

The trade also shows up in regulated markets, with CME bitcoin futures open interest rising from roughly 87,000 BTC to 122,000 BTC, while CryptoQuant data shows hedge funds there have flipped to unusually net long. CoinDesk added that Abraxas has also withdrawn large amounts of spot crypto from centralized exchanges, pulling 73,872 ETH, about $173 million, from Binance over the past four days.

Latest closeBitcoin $78,923.50 ▲1.4%|Ethereum $2,498.00 ▲2.3%

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