Key Takeaways
Wintermute is heavily shorting the market, with few long positions. Its strategy shows rising caution, especially toward altcoins and meme tokens.
Market maker Wintermute is making bold moves behind the scenes. As markets wobble, the trading giant has taken a defensive turn, quietly shifting its strategy and reshaping its bets.
What’s driving the change, and what could it mean for the rest of the market?
A defensive portfolio and calculated conviction
Wintermute’s current positioning shows a clear preference for shorts, with nearly 70% of its $123 million portfolio leaning bearish across ten assets.
By contrast, the firm holds just four meaningful long positions — Bitcoin [BTC], Sui [SUI], Dogecoin [DOGE], and the S&P 500 [SPX] — each remains relatively modest in size compared to its aggressive short exposure.
Source: X
Its long on Bitcoin is the largest at $10.38 million (20x leverage), delivering a 13.95% return. Naturally, the standout returns are from shorts.
Bets against Official Trump [TRUMP] and Ripple [XRP] have paid off handsomely, raking in 127.99% and 78.11% ROI, respectively.
This is a clear sign that Wintermute’s sharp eye for downside plays is working well in a shaky market.
A vote of no confidence in altcoins?
Wintermute’s portfolio is a sign of broader market caution.
Heavy short positions on blue-chip assets like Ethereum [ETH], Solana [SOL], and Curve DAO [CRV] deep skepticism about near-term altcoin upside.
The firm’s ETH short alone stands at $26.3 million (15x), with a -27.33% return, highlighting firm conviction.
Meanwhile, the firm’s bold shorting of small-cap tokens like Fartcoin [FARTCOIN], Pump.fun [PUMP] shows a de-risking strategy focused on volatile, low-liquidity assets.
Derivatives traders still bullish, but SOL faces headwinds
Despite Wintermute’s defensive tilt, most derivatives traders remain long.
Funding Rates for BTC and ETH are still positive across Binance, BitMEX, Bybit, and OKX, indicating traders expect price upside.
Open Interest remains elevated, with BTC at ~$79.55 billion and ETH near $46.97 billion, per Coinalyze.
Source: Coinalyze
However, Solana is flashing early warning signs.
Source: Coinalyze
Funding Rates on SOL have flipped negative across multiple exchanges. Open Interest also plunged from over $12 billion to ~$9.14 billion.
Notably, Wintermute holds a $14.7 million short position in SOL—possibly anticipating further selloffs.
If BTC or ETH funding turns negative next, it could confirm broader short pressure and align with Wintermute’s heavy $26 million short on ETH.
Until then, Solana’s behavior may serve as the market’s early warning system.
Wintermute’s small cap shorts — retail beware?
Wintermute appears to be actively shorting lower-cap tokens like TRUMP, FARTCOIN, and PUMP – assets with high Open Interest relative to their market caps.
TRUMP Futures OI was at $368 million and FARTCOIN at $687 million at press time, both showing signs of retail buildup.
Source: CoinGlass
PUMP, despite a collapsed price, still held $434 million in OI. These are likely liquidity plays, with Wintermute shorting into crowd-driven rallies.
Source: CoinGlass
XRP stood out with $7.23B in OI, showing broader market involvement. For traders, sharp OI spikes in these names could signal reactive retail behavior, and potential traps laid by smarter money.
Timing entries around these flows is key.
Wintermute’s risk-off strategy, heavy short allocations, and focus on retail favorites suggest a sharp divergence from derivatives sentiment.
If funding flips negative on BTC or ETH, their positioning could prove prescient.
