HYPE Breaks Through $40, Two Whale Giants Open Opposing Positions of 5.7 Million Dollars

$773M Crypto Liquidations Hit Shorts on April 18

On April 18, 2026, crypto markets saw $773 million in liquidations, primarily affecting short traders (77% of losses) due to a sudden price rise. This incident highlighted the risks of leverage in trading, leading to forced position closures.

Newly Created Wallet Deposits $1.99M USDC to Hyperliquid, Opens 5x Leveraged ASTER Long

Gate News message, April 18 — According to Onchain Lens, a newly created wallet deposited $1.99 million USDC to Hyperliquid and opened a 5x leveraged long position in ASTER.

BTC falls 0.49% in 15 minutes: fragile long leverage and active sell-off pressure resonate to weigh on the short term

From 18:00 to 18:15 (UTC) on 2026-04-17, the BTC price fluctuated and trended downward within the 77097.4 to 77573.2 USDT range. Over these 15 minutes, the return rate recorded -0.49%, and the amplitude reached 0.61%. During this period, market trading was active; short-term volatility was amplified, and trading attention increased significantly. The main driver behind this abnormal move is that the overall leverage structure is bearish and long positions are fragile. At present, the BTC perpetual contract funding rate has remained negative for 11 consecutive days, indicating that the bears have the upper hand in the market. In addition, futures open interest (OI) is about 628.3 billion USDT, which is at a historical high. During the anomaly window, trading volume increased noticeably. On-chain data shows large amounts of BTC flowing from long-term holder addresses to exchanges, suggesting that active sell orders may have triggered longs to passively reduce positions, amplifying downward price pressure. Moreover, institutional positioning enthusiasm in the mainstream contract market has cooled off; liquidity boundaries have tightened, causing large-trade activity to have an amplified effect on market volatility. In the options market, implied volatility rose to 39.81%, increasing demand for downside protection and reflecting a defensive posture among market participants. Macro-environment volatility and some capital flowing into safe-haven assets, together with the recent regulatory uncertainty-related historical events, reinforced the move, pushing overall market risk appetite lower. Current BTC leverage risks still remain. If, in the future, there are concentrated sell-offs, volatility may be further amplified. It is recommended to continue monitoring sustained high OI levels, the persistence of negative funding rates, and on-chain transfers of large amounts of funds, and to stay alert for whale behavior and any disruptions to market sentiment caused by macro-policy developments. For subsequent price action, please watch key support levels, institutional and whale on-chain moves, and relevant global market news, and guard against short-term risks.

Bitcoin Liquidations Hit $815M as BTC Surges Above $78K Amid Iran Strait Opening

Over $815 million in leveraged cryptocurrency positions were liquidated recently, mainly due to short positions against Bitcoin. Markets improved as Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz and Trump hinted at a deal with Iran, boosting Bitcoin prices significantly.

XRP Consolidation Signals Reset as Bullish Setup Emerges

XRP has recently rebounded to $1.39 after trading between $1.20 and $1.40 due to improved market sentiment. A significant drop in futures open interest reflects reduced speculation, while technical indicators suggest a potential bullish breakout, targeting $1.50 and possibly $1.80.