Journalist
Posted:
Bitcoin continued to spread weakness across cryptocurrencies on February 17, 2026. Risk appetite broke as Open Interest moved away from Bitcoin and Ethereum, while price momentum stalled.
BTC’s OI fell from over $12 billion at the end of January to $7.6 billion, while its price fell from $80K to $60K, with Ethereum mirroring the decline.
Meanwhile, HYPE’s Open Interest climbed to $1.32 billion from $1.19 billion when it was trading around $29. Therefore, leverage did not disappear; it concentrated in one speculative pocket.
Was this a calculated positioning or a reckless escalation? However, more drama unfolded around Machi Big Brother.
Machi Expands $16M+ in Leveraged Positions
Jeffrey Huang, known as Machi Big Brother, posted a $27.5 million loss on Hyperliquid in 20 days and has faced 145 liquidations since October 2025. Instead of slowing down, he increased the risk.
He sold spot ETH and smaller tokens to raise collateral and rotating capital to support BTC, ETH and HYPE longs.
His positions amounted to 6,200 ETH, 25 BTC and 55,000 HYPE, with the ETH long being his largest conviction bet. Spot selling to exploit perpetrators is a high-risk strategy that magnifies both profits and losses.
Source: Lookonchain
The $1.7 million HYPE position also reflected a bet on a stock market gain. If Bitcoin were to regain $72,000, momentum could improve all three positions.
So it was not about a shortage of money, but about a concentrated bet. However, if BTC were to fail to regain strength, the pressure would increase quickly.
OI battle: HYPE vs BTC vs ETH
HYPE’s Open Interest remained elevated as Bitcoin [BTC] and ether [ETH] OI declined steadily.
Source: CoinGlass
Notably, HYPE’s OI rose to $1.32 billion as its price rose. Bulls seemed to be in control.
Source: CoinGlass
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s OI fell sharply from its post-crash highs.
As a result, leverage became thinner on majors, but thicker on Hyperliquid [HYPE]. This concentration created tension beneath the surface.
Condemnation or pressure for Machi?
BTC traders leaned net short at 56% versus 43% long, while ETH showed an even heavier short bias near 58%. However, HYPE has reversed the format with a long dominance of 69%.
Source: CoinGlass
This gap was important. Risk appetite weakened among the majors, but conviction was concentrated among HYPE. The liquidation risk therefore became uneven.
BTC and ETH faced short squeeze risk, while HYPE faced a long pullback. Was Machi aiming for profit or chasing redemption?
Final summary
- The leverage didn’t disappear; it aggressively migrated to HYPE.
- Machi’s escalation reflected either conviction or a dangerous refusal to accept defeat.