A London-based hedge fund just placed one of the strangest bets in crypto right now: it is shorting 353 million USD worth of Ethereum while simultaneously buying the very same asset with both hands. On-chain analytics account Lookonchain reported on September 8 that Abraxas Capital purchased another 13,000 ETH worth 32.39 million USD in the spot market — not to close its bet against Ethereum, but to hedge it.
By Priya Sharma | September 8, 2026
The Hook: A Giant Short Meets a Giant Buy
The numbers are eye-popping even by crypto standards. According to Lookonchain, Abraxas Capital holds a short position of 141,180 ETH on Hyperliquid, the decentralized trading platform — valued at roughly 353.27 million USD at the time of the report. On the same day, the fund bought 13,000 ETH for 32.39 million USD in the spot market, an implied price of about 2,491 USD per token, right in line with where Ethereum trades at the time of writing (around 2,492 USD).
If that sounds like a contradiction, it is not — it is textbook hedging, and understanding it will make you a sharper investor. A short position profits when the price falls. Spot ETH profits when the price rises. By holding both, Abraxas has partially insulated itself from the market moving in either direction, at least on the portion covered by the hedge.
On-Chain Evidence: The Numbers Behind the Trade
- 141,180 ETH — the size of Abraxas’s short position on Hyperliquid
- 353.27 million USD — the value of that short position per Lookonchain
- 13,000 ETH — the latest spot purchase, worth 32.39 million USD
- Just over 9 percent — share of the short now covered by the spot hedge, measured in tokens
- 128,180 ETH — remaining net short exposure after subtracting the hedge
Lookonchain specifically characterized the purchase as a hedge rather than a closure or reduction of the underlying short. The short itself stays open on Hyperliquid. Subtracting the 13,000 ETH hedge from the 141,180 ETH short leaves about 128,180 ETH of net short exposure — before considering any other holdings or positions the firm may control. In plain terms: Abraxas remains heavily net short on Ethereum.
The Core Conflict: Why Bet Against ETH While Buying It?
The most likely explanation is risk management on a leveraged position. Shorts on perpetual futures — the instrument Hyperliquid specializes in — carry liquidation risk. If Ethereum’s price rises far enough, the exchange can force-close the position and the fund loses its collateral. Holding spot ETH against the short means that if the price rises, the spot holdings gain value at the same time the short loses, cushioning the blow and reducing the chance of a forced liquidation. It is like buying insurance on a bet you still believe in.
There is history here too. Lookonchain data cited in the coverage shows Abraxas previously accumulated more than 211,000 ETH worth over 477 million USD during a six-day buying run in May 2025. This is a fund with a documented record of making enormous moves in both directions on Ethereum — and the resources to defend them.
The venue matters as much as the trade. Large leveraged positions have become common on Hyperliquid, where whale accounts have carried several billion dollars in combined positions this year. That concentration cuts both ways: it proves decentralized exchanges can now handle institutional-scale trading, but it also means a single fund’s position can ripple through liquidity when markets move sharply.
Market Implications: What It Means for Your Portfolio
First, do not read the spot purchase as a bullish signal on its own. The defining fact of this story is that the fund is still net short roughly 128,000 ETH. A sophisticated trader betting nine figures against Ethereum’s near-term price is a data point worth knowing, even if hedge funds are wrong as often as they are right.
Second, the trade is a live demonstration of why decentralized finance matters. A leveraged hedge of this size, executed and verified entirely on a public blockchain, would have required a prime broker and a mountain of paperwork in traditional finance. Here, anyone with a block explorer can watch it happen in real time — transparency that retail investors have never had over Wall Street funds.
The Verdict
Abraxas Capital’s 32.39 million USD spot buy is a defensive move on a much larger 353 million USD bet against Ethereum, not a change of heart. For everyday investors the lesson is twofold: whales manage risk with hedges, not just convictions, and on-chain markets now let you see exactly how they do it. Whether the short pays off depends on where Ethereum goes next — but the smartest move for most people watching is to treat it as information, not a trading signal.
The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
shorting 353M on hyperliquid AND buying 13k spot to hedge it. whoever runs their risk desk is playing 4d chess or completely unhinged
This is a basis trade with extra steps. Spot leg neutralizes the perp short, they collect funding. Not that exotic when you think it through.
basis trade sure, but doing it at this size on hyperliquid with everyone watching your wallet is the spicy part. trad funds usually get to be anonymous
the doxxing cuts both ways tho, they know everyone can see the wallet and sized it anyway. either bravado or the desk doesnt care about copycats
public by necessity, hyperliquid wallets are doxxed by design. prime broker anonymity is the thing they actually gave up
its just basis, they collect funding either way. the unhinged part is doing 353M on a perp venue where everyone can watch the wallet
141k eth short on hyperliquid but 13k eth spot bought the same day. classic delta neutral carry, theyre farming the funding not betting eth zero
^ its a funding rate play all day. short perp long spot, collect the spread while plebs argue about direction
the real story is hyperliquid being the collateral venue of choice for a 353M fund short. venue risk stacked on trade risk, two lottery tickets for one position
Noticed the implied fill was 2491 vs spot around 2492. Tight execution on 32 million dollars, someone at Abraxas earned their bonus.
1 dollar of slippage on 32M is the flex nobody talks about. whoever worked that order knows the book cold
tight fill sure but the real tell is they barely sized the cover. if they trusted the basis thesis theyd run 30 percent hedge not 9
9 percent is deliberate tho. enough to survive a squeeze, small enough to keep collecting full funding on the 141k leg. tuned, not timid
30 percent hedge would eat the funding, thats the whole point basis_bandit. 9 percent keeps the carry positive on 141k eth while still calming the risk desk
imagine being liquidated on a 353M hyperliquid short because your hedge was 32M short. the math does not math
the hedge being tiny is the point tho, its margin management not full cover. one 20 percent candle and that 353M starts sweating
the 32M was spot longs against the perp short, not another short. tiny cover sure, but read the direction before calling the math broken
funding on 141k eth pays for a lot of patience. direction barely matters when the carry is the whole trade
13k eth spot against a 141k eth short is a toe hedge not a full one. they are still very net short eth, funding just pays them to wait
13k eth spot against a 141k eth short is an umbrella with a three inch canopy in a storm. confident or hedged, pick one
three inch canopy is generous, its 13k against 141k. but the funding payments scale with the 141k leg, thats the engine
nah torill has a point tho. umbrella metaphor holds, one gap down and that hedge is decoration. basis trades die exactly when everyone calls them free
Watching the wallet is free alpha for everyone else now. Half of crypto twitter is running Abraxas copy trades and calling it research.
Funding on a 353M short probably covers the entire borrow cost on the spot leg. People keep debating direction when the desk is just collecting spread.
everyone argues direction while the desk locked a 2491 fill against 2492 spot. the execution spread alone on 32M pays a junior analyst salary