Abraxas Capital built up a short position on Brent oil in the past few days. The fund carries $135M in notional value, betting on a decline in oil despite the mounting geopolitical tensions.
Abraxas Capital kept expanding its perpetual futures position on crude oil. The fund bet on a downturn for the Brent contract as represented on HIP-3. Abraxas Capital carries $2B in assets under management and specializes in using traditional finance strategies through all available crypto markets.
Abraxas used two main wallets to short both Brent and WTI light crude oil through Trade[.]XYZ. Both wallets contain a Brent short valued at $101M and additional positions on the WTI contract. Abraxas is also shorting gold, while being long on $BTC, SOL, and silver.
As Cryptopolitan reported earlier, the market is not past the initial oil supply shocks, but oil has stalled at around $100.
Why is Abraxas Capital shorting oil?
Abraxas Capital can afford to pay the relatively high fees to hold the crude oil positions. The liquidation price range is between $146 and $141 per barrel, while Brent traded around $115. WTI is still at around $102.
Compared to crypto, even the current volatile oil market remains slower, allowing Abraxas Capital to benefit even from a small downturn. Hyperliquid is open 24/7 and can reflect the latest news on geopolitical tensions, leading to an immediate oil downturn.
The relatively risky strategy is combined with the usual crypto activity of Abraxas. The long $BTC position also suggests Abraxas Capital expects at least some market normalization. All positions may only work in the short term and not reflect a sustainable trend.
Oil is still the leading Hyperliquid commodity market
Both Brent and WTI make up the busiest trading contracts on HIP-3. Brent open interest remains at $419M, with $370M in daily volume.
The WTI CL contract retains $262M in open interest, with $441M in daily volume. Both oil futures are below their peak trading activity, where WTI peaked at $1.5B.
Silver and gold are no longer used for assets responsive to market uncertainty. Oil is the more rapidly reacting commodity, allowing crypto traders to benefit from directional bets. The platform is still a key venue on weekends and off-market hours, where new developments of the war in Iran can shift price direction.
In addition to whales like Abraxas, Hyperliquid is attracting new retail wallets. As of March 25, a record 7,794 new users entered the market, partially driven by the attractive offers of HIP-3.
Trade[.]XYZ remains the leading third-party market on HIP-3, with a peak open interest of $1.76B. Trade[.]XYZ reached a market share of 85.6%, leaving behind other exchanges.
The inflow of new users supported HYPE, which recovered to $38.83 after the most recent dip. However, Abraxas Capital did not show confidence in the platform’s native token; instead, it shorted the asset in a position with a notional value of $3.93M.
