Traders Face Steep Losses as NEAR Surges Against Market Sentiment
A significant portion of top traders on the derivatives platform Hyperliquid have found themselves on the wrong side of a powerful rally in the NEAR cryptocurrency, incurring substantial unrealized losses. While many are betting against the market, the NEAR token’s impressive ascent in September has proven costly for bearish positions.
Bears Squeezed by NEAR’s Price Surge
The most prominent short position on NEAR on Hyperliquid is currently facing approximately $13 million in unrealized losses. In stark contrast, the largest long position has seen gains of around $17.35 million.
Data from September 30, 2026, revealed that the top NEAR short held a notional value of roughly $22.78 million, employing 3x leverage. This position had accumulated unrealized losses of approximately $12.83 million.
The leading bullish position, however, tells a different story. According to research data, this top long had a notional value of approximately $30.87 million, utilizing 10x leverage. Its unrealized gains were estimated to be between $17.13 million and $17.55 million.
The pressure on bearish traders extends beyond a single entity. Two specific addresses, identified as 0xfe7c… and 0xdd53…, collectively held about 4.31 million NEAR in short positions. As of September 27, their combined unrealized losses surpassed $25 million, with each individual facing losses exceeding $12 million.
Price Action Drives Losses
The significant losses for short sellers can be directly attributed to NEAR’s price performance. The token experienced a dramatic climb throughout September, moving from the low-$2 range to approximately $5.37-$5.39.
This price surge was accompanied by a notable increase in trading activity. NEAR perpetual open interest reached approximately $345 million between September 23 and September 30.
The recent introduction of NEAR/USDC spot markets on Hyperliquid coincided with this heightened trading volume. The resulting market conditions have significantly benefited traders who were positioned for an upward price movement.
Platform-Wide Sentiment vs. NEAR Specifics
Across the entire Hyperliquid platform, whale data indicated a general bearish bias, with short positions accounting for 53.33% of the open notional value. However, when focusing specifically on NEAR, the sentiment shifts. Among NEAR whales, long positions totaled $80.43 million, significantly outweighing the $59.16 million in short positions. This suggests that while many of the platform’s top traders are leaning bearish, the largest capital allocated to NEAR is positioned for gains.
Hyperliquid operates as a venue for perpetual futures, a type of derivative allowing traders to speculate on price movements without a set expiration date. The platform’s transparency, which enables public tracking of positions and wallet addresses, makes significant whale movements a subject of considerable interest.
The addition of spot NEAR/USDC trading provided an additional avenue for engaging with the token on the platform, and this development is believed to have contributed to the surge in activity observed in September.
Risks and Outlook
The most immediate risks lie with the short positions. Those carrying losses of $12 million or more are under considerable pressure, and new short positions were still being initiated in real-time as of late September.
Conversely, the top long position, operating with 10x leverage, faces the risk that even a minor pullback from the $5.37-$5.39 range could significantly erode its substantial paper gains.
The $345 million in open interest is a key figure to monitor. Elevated open interest, coupled with high funding rates, typically signals an environment ripe for volatility, as a large number of participants are leveraged in opposing directions simultaneously.
