The one-paragraph version: Shorts are paying enormous funding rates on Hyperliquid right now — most dramatically on ZEC, where being short costs 122% a year, far more than the same short costs on Binance. When the same trade is priced that differently across venues, you can get paid the gap without taking a directional view. Two trades qualify today; both are funding-capture, not price bets.
What's happening: Zcash crashed roughly 50% in 48 hours last week — from $624 to $309 — after a critical bug was found in its Orchard shielded pool and Arthur Hayes exited his position (BitMEX's post-mortem of the crash). The bug was patched by emergency hard fork on June 3 and price has clawed back to ~$430. Traders piled into shorts after the crash — and on Hyperliquid they're now paying 122% annualized funding to hold them, on a deep market ($201M open interest, $419M daily volume).
The trade: This isn't "buy ZEC." It's delta-neutral carry: go long ZEC on Hyperliquid (you collect the 122% the shorts pay) and short the same size on Binance (where shorts pay only ~54%). Price moves cancel out; you keep the ~68% APR difference.
Exit rule: when the HL-vs-Binance funding gap closes under ~30% APR, the trade is over — leave. The carry is the entire trade.
Paper position: $2,000 — track it live
What's happening: Morpho announced a $175M raise led by a16z, Paradigm and Ribbit this morning at a ~$2B valuation (The Block's coverage). The token popped ~10% and faders rushed in — on Hyperliquid shorts now pay 95% APR, while on Binance the same short costs just 6.5%. That's a pure HL-side dislocation that should normalize within days.
The trade: same shape — long on Hyperliquid, short on Binance, ~88% APR gross. Size small: only $4.8M open interest; check the order book before entering.
Exit rule: funding gap under ~30%, or the book gets too thin to exit cleanly.
Paper position: $1,000
Funding is short-heavy across the majors (ETH −12%, SOL −19% APR) and HYPE fell 9% today on $1.18B of open interest. The bears are paying to press their bets — which means any bounce gets accelerated by shorts covering. Six small caps are pinned at their open-interest caps (CANTO, FTM, JELLY, LOOM, RLB, ZEREBRO).
--- Data: Hyperliquid public API at report time · funding APR = annualized hourly funding, positive means longs pay shorts · machine version · not financial advice
The one-paragraph version: Hyperliquid is fully transparent — every wallet's positions are public — so we track the 30 most profitable directional traders on the leaderboard (market makers filtered out; $829M in combined positions). Right now they are positioned hard for downside: massively net short ETH and BTC, evenly split on HYPE. This is the baseline report; from tomorrow we'll show exactly what they changed overnight.
The cohort is $213M net short ETH — 14 of the 18 wallets with ETH exposure are short. The standout: a trader running +170% ROI this month holding a $98M short from $1,810, currently up ~$10M and not covering. A second $42M short sits at 15x leverage. Funding only costs them ~12% APR — cheap to keep pressing.
The posture: don't be long ETH against these guys. If you want the trade, short bounces with a stop above $2,380 — that's where the big short's liquidation sits, and above it the squeeze feeds itself.
Invalidates: net short dropping under ~$100M, or the top shorts trimming (tomorrow's diff will show it).
Paper position: $1,000 short from $1,641
$163M net short BTC (11 short / 5 long), and the notable part is timing: a $47M short was opened today at $68.9k entry by a +54% monthly-ROI wallet, at 15x. Longs across the whole cohort total just $16M.
Invalidates: that fresh $47M short closing quickly (would read as a scalp, not a campaign).
Paper position: $1,000 short from $61,800
HYPE is the one major where smart money disagrees with itself: $138M long vs $131M short (7 long / 11 short), with price down 9% today at ~$58. On one side, an $80M long from $38.68 sitting on +$26M. On the other, a $43M short from $65.57 up $6M. No edge until one side caves — the daily diff is the tell to watch.
The profitable cohort is leaning the same way as the funding crowd: down. When smart money and the crowd agree, the pain trade is a rally — watch the diffs for the first big short to blink.
--- Positions are public data via clearinghouseState · wallet links open in Hypurrscan · live paper book · machine version · not financial advice
🌊 HL Funding Report — Jun 9, 2026 TOP PICKS 1. ZEC — get paid 122% APR to be the calm one Trade: delta-neutral carry — long ZEC perp on HL, short equal size on Binance. Net carry ≈ +68% APR at current rates. Not a directional call. Why: shorts crowded in after the crash (ZEC fell $624→$309 on the Orchard bug + Arthur Hayes exiting; patched via emergency fork June 3, now ~$430). HL shorts pay 122% APR vs 54% on Binance — that gap is the trade, on the deepest book in the scan ($201M OI, $419M daily volume). Invalidates: HL/Binance funding gap closing under ~30% APR — the carry IS the trade, exit with it. 2. MORPHO — paid 95% APR to hold the news Trade: small delta-neutral — long on HL, short on Binance. Net ≈ +88% APR gross. Size small: only $4.8M OI; check the book before entry. Why: $175M raise led by a16z/Paradigm/Ribbit announced TODAY at ~$2B valuation. Token popped then faded, and HL shorts now pay 95% APR to fade it while Binance funding is just -6.5% — a pure HL-side dislocation that should normalize within days. Invalidates: gap under ~30%, or order book too thin to exit a hedged position cleanly. WATCHING - TRUMP: -76% APR but only $2.7M daily volume — exit risk too high. - STABLE: the reverse trade — Bybit shorts pay 80% APR vs HL 23%; carry lives on Bybit, not HL. - SOL: -19.5% APR on $258M OI — liquid, but not rich enough yet. Alert level: -30%. MARKET PULSE Funding is short-heavy across majors (ETH -12%, SOL -19% APR) and HYPE dropped 9% today on $1.18B OI. Bears are paying to press — crowded shorts plus any bounce is squeeze fuel. Six small caps pinned at OI caps (CANTO, FTM, JELLY, LOOM, RLB, ZEREBRO).
🌊 HL Smart Money Report — Jun 9, 2026 Baseline run: tracking 30 profitable directional wallets ($829M gross notional), filtered for month PnL/ROI with market-makers excluded. Position diffs get meaningful from tomorrow. TOP PICKS 1. ETH — the cohort's biggest conviction short Trade: don't fight it — no longs; short bounces, stop above $2,380 (where the biggest short's liquidation sits). Why: $213M net short, 14 of 18 wallets with ETH exposure are short. The largest: $98M short from a +170% monthly-ROI wallet, up $10M and holding. Funding only costs them -12% APR — cheap to press. Invalidates: net short dropping under ~$100M or the top-3 shorts trimming (will show in tomorrow's diff). 2. BTC — same lean, fresh pressure Trade: same posture as ETH; the cohort is short $163M net (11S/5L). Why: a $47M BTC short was opened TODAY (entry $68.9k) by a +54% month-ROI wallet, joining shorts from +100% and +173% ROI wallets. Longs in this cohort total just $16M. Invalidates: the new $47M short closing fast (would read as a quick scalp, not a campaign). WATCHING - HYPE: the battleground — $138M long vs $131M short (7L/11S) among profitable wallets, price -9% today at ~$58. The $80M long from $38.68 is up $26M; a $42M short from $65.57 is up $6M. No edge until one side caves — watch tomorrow's diff for capitulation. - ZEC: smart money stays short (5S/4L) while PAYING 122% APR funding — the most expensive conviction on the book. Either they know something or the squeeze gets violent. - NEAR: quiet $8M net short building (5S/2L), no obvious catalyst. MARKET PULSE The profitable cohort is positioned hard for downside in majors, and funding says the broader crowd agrees. When smart money and the crowd lean the same way, the pain trade is up.
📊 paper book (live PnL) · archive: 2026-06-09