Hedge Funds2026-09-30 00:27:43Hedge funds take record share of U.S. Treasuries as regulators warn on deleveraging riskHedge funds have reached a record presence in the roughly $30 trillion U.S. Treasury market, according to a CNBC report cited by BlockBeats. Data from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Research show that, by the end of 2025, hedge funds held $2 trillion in cash Treasuries, about three times the level seen five years earlier and equal to 7% of the $28.9 trillion tradable Treasury market. Federal Reserve data also show that U.S.-domiciled hedge funds remained net buyers in the first half of 2026, purchasing $26.4 billion in the first quarter and $60.6 billion in the second, for a combined total of about $87 billion. The shift comes as long-term investors such as pension funds reduce demand for longer-dated Treasuries and allocate more capital to private credit. Regulators, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank for International Settlements, have warned that highly leveraged basis trades funded through repo markets could trigger margin calls, forced selling, and rapid deleveraging when volatility rises.200
Bank of Ameri2026-09-29 03:46:54BofA says bond-market volatility is testing the AI bull trade as deleveraging risk risesBank of America strategist Michael Hartnett said sharp swings in the U.S. Treasury market are becoming a new source of pressure for risk assets. He pointed to the MOVE Index, which jumped about 35% in two trading days, as a sign that the funding system built around Treasuries as core collateral is facing heavier stress. Hartnett said a broader risk-off deleveraging phase could emerge if the iShares Global Financials ETF, or IXG, falls below $125 while the MOVE Index stays above 125. According to Hartnett, that setup would put the AI trade under a tougher rate test. He said rising yields alone do not automatically end risk appetite, but the combination of elevated yields and weakening financial stocks would be more dangerous because it would suggest rates are no longer signaling economic expansion and are instead tightening liquidity and credit conditions. BofA also noted that the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield briefly moved above 5.2% last week, its highest level since 2007, while an earlier fund manager survey from the bank showed that a disorderly rise in bond yields had overtaken an AI bubble as the market’s top tail risk concern.210
Bitcoin2026-09-14 07:01:22Santiment says Bitcoin open interest in BTC terms fell 13.5% from Sept. 3Santiment said Bitcoin open interest measured in BTC dropped from 321,497 BTC on Sept. 3 to 278,151 BTC on Sept. 11, a decline of 43,346 BTC, or 13.5%. Over the same period, BTC price fell about 5%, which Santiment said means the drop in positioning was not simply the result of price weakness. The firm added that current market positioning remains roughly 20% below levels seen before the rise in mid-August. Open interest stopped falling on Sept. 11 and then posted slight increases for the next two trading days. According to Santiment, that pattern suggests most de-risking took place before this week’s key event announcements rather than during the events themselves. The update points to leverage being reduced in advance, with some positioning starting to rebuild only after the decline in open interest paused.740
Bitcoin2026-09-12 13:06:43Axel Adler Jr. says Bitcoin open interest fell by about 13,600 BTC in 24 hoursBitcoin open interest dropped by about 13,600 BTC over the past 24 hours, according to data cited by on-chain analyst Axel Adler Jr., while the price of BTC was largely unchanged over the same period. Adler said the decline in open interest without a clear price drop points to active deleveraging in the market rather than forced selling tied to a sharp downturn. He added that this kind of reduction in positioning can help ease the risk of concentrated liquidations in highly leveraged trades and lower the chance of a broader liquidation cascade. The update focuses on the relationship between derivatives positioning and spot price stability over the last day, with the main signal coming from shrinking open interest despite little movement in Bitcoin itself.900
Bitcoin2026-09-07 07:05:44Bitcoin Experiences Sharpest Deleveraging Since 2023; Buying Pressure at Cycle HighsOn-chain analyst Darkfost reports that Bitcoin just underwent its most aggressive deleveraging event since 2023. Binance open interest dropped below the 180-day moving average while the largest long-short liquidation in this cycle occurred. Currently, Binance open interest remains at $9.6B, above the $8.3B 180-day average, accounting for 37% of Bitcoin's total open interest. Meanwhile, Bitcoin's cumulative net buying pressure over 365 days has reached its strongest level since the previous bear market, supporting a bullish rebound, though high leverage remains a risk.710
Whale Activit2026-08-25 07:12:30Storage names rally on Hyperliquid, but on-chain positioning keeps shrinkingTradingBeats, formerly Hyperinsight, said Aug. 25 that storage-linked names on Hyperliquid have risen sharply since a concentrated rebound began on July 30, with SKHX up about 29.9%, SNDK up 52.6%, and MU up 28.5%. Yet open interest across the three contracts moved the other way. Their combined OI value fell from roughly $999 million to $677 million, a drop of about $322 million, or 32.2%. The pullback looks larger when measured by contract size rather than dollar value. SKHX saw OI fall 28.7% while contract holdings dropped 45.1%. SNDK posted a 19.5% decline in OI and a 47.2% drop in holdings. MU recorded a 49.1% fall in OI and a 60.4% decline in holdings. TradingBeats said the gains over the past month were not matched by sustained expansion in open positions, and that rising prices during the same period make dollar-denominated OI understate the contraction in actual contract exposure. Using an Aug. 18 afternoon snapshot as a comparison point, combined OI across the three names fell another $192 million over the past seven days, down 22.1%. Margin data for million-dollar whale accounts also showed lower effective leverage on both the long and short side across SKHX, SNDK, and MU.1010
Goldman Sachs2026-08-23 03:56:59Goldman Sachs says AI trade is seeing a July-style deleveraging, with storage and data centers standing outGoldman Sachs said this week’s market action fits a classic deleveraging pattern, with underlying logic similar to the July sell-off. The bank said its high-beta momentum basket fell 12% this week, while its AI hedge basket dropped 10% over five days. Even though leverage in the AI segment has already come down from extreme highs, inertia-driven capital is still supporting rapid and indiscriminate dip-buying. Goldman said the AI trade is not over, but the phase in which investors could generate excess returns from a broad rise across the sector is changing. In its view, the focus should now shift to pockets where share prices and earnings per share have clearly diverged. The firm highlighted storage and data center names as the area with the most visible valuation gap, saying earnings recovery has yet to be fully reflected in stock prices, which gives the group the strongest tactical appeal. The bank also pointed to Nvidia’s second-quarter earnings and an industry conference in September as upcoming catalysts. At the same time, momentum positioning is being reset: software has replaced semiconductors as the biggest weight in the three-month momentum long basket, while semiconductors and the broader AI complex have moved into the short basket.1080
Whale Movemen2026-08-18 14:42:42Whale cuts another 200 BTC as losses reach $1.81 millionOdaily, citing on-chain analyst Ai Yi, reported that BTC briefly moved above $65,000, prompting a whale to trim another 200 BTC. The latest reduction produced a loss of $243,000, bringing total losses to $1.81 million. The wallet still holds 312 BTC worth about $20.2 million, with an unrealized loss of $368,000 and a liquidation price of $65,078.1070
