Opinion: Short positions in US stocks hit a historic high, Bitcoin may usher in a 'decoupling moment' BlockBeats News: On May 26th, XWIN Research reported that short positions in the US stock market have recently surged to historical highs, but this does not mean that the market is completely bearish. Data shows that the total leverage ratio of hedge funds has risen to about 293%, and the short exposure and Days to Cover indicators of the S&P 500 index have both set records, reflecting that institutional investors are maintaining large long positions while significantly increasing hedge positions. The current market presents a structural state of "high leverage, simultaneous expansion of long and short positions", with a continued upward trend on the surface, but a significant increase in internal defensive sentiment. The core reason for driving this phenomenon is that funds continue to be highly concentrated in AI related super heavyweight stocks. A large amount of capital has flowed into a few tech giants, while small and medium-sized enterprises and weak sectors have suffered from continuous short selling, resulting in the index maintaining its strength, but the internal fragility of the market continues to accumulate. This structure means that once the popularity of AI trading cools down, the market may experience more severe fluctuations and risk release. This change is equally significant for Bitcoin. In history, BTC has typically fluctuated in sync with the US stock market during major risk events, such as the 2020 pandemic crash when Bitcoin and the S&P 500 fell together without demonstrating traditional safe haven properties. But since 2025, there has been a clear divergence between the two: the S&P 500 has remained relatively stable, while BTC volatility has significantly increased. ETF fund inflows and active spot buying indicate that Bitcoin is increasingly driven by its own liquidity cycle, leverage structure, and institutional demand. The market is beginning to believe that Bitcoin may be evolving from a simple "high-risk asset" to a hybrid asset that combines macro liquidity attributes with an independent market structure. [Original link]