Bitcoin Market Makers Are Profiting From the Rally Without Betting on Where BTC Goes Next

Bitcoin Market Makers Are Profiting From the Rally Without Betting on Where BTC Goes Next


Balanced Bitcoin spot holdings and futures hedge illustrating a market-neutral basis trade image By Isaac • August 30, 2026 7:22 pm •

Bitcoin’s comeback has reopened an old trade that does not require calling the next top.

Some of the market’s larger trading firms are buying spot crypto while shorting an equivalent amount of perpetual futures. The two positions largely cancel each other’s price exposure.

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What remains is the yield created when bullish traders pay to keep leveraged long positions open.

That structure is known as a cash-and-carry, or basis, trade. It is less exciting than a giant directional bet, but that is the point.

According to CoinDesk’s reporting on current market-maker positions, Abraxas Capital, Fasanara Capital and Wintermute collectively held short positions of 3,425 BTC and 138,569 ETH on Hyperliquid. At the prices cited in the report,

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