A Bear That Keeps Winning

Onchain analytics firm Nansen said a Hyperliquid trader (referred to by the firm as a “Perps Perma-Bear“) is 81% short with a $2.7 million all-time profit and loss (PnL) on the decentralized perpetual-futures exchange. The wallet’s largest position is a $13.57 million short on HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token, showing a $539,000 gain. Shorts on ether ( ETH) and bitcoin ( BTC) are also in the green, up about $226,000 and $138,000 respectively.

The trader is not uniformly bearish, however. “Despite being a Perma-Bear, they’re not short on everything,” Nansen noted, adding that the wallet holds select long positions even as its short book dominates.

The bet is paying off because HYPE has retreated from its highs after hitting an all-time high of $75.51 on June 2. It is now trading closer to $58, roughly 25% below that peak. The decline has rewarded shorts after a euphoric spring run-up.

Moreover, Bitcoin.com News reported last month that HYPE had been hitting a string of price highs seemingly every other week as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) cracked open the U.S. perpetuals market, clearing the first domestically regulated perpetual futures contract. The breakthrough drew institutional attention to Hyperliquid, the dominant onchain venue for perpetual futures (i.e. derivatives that let traders bet on price with leverage and no expiry date).

Whales on Both Sides

The perma-bear is far from the only large player operating in this space, as wallets linked to venture firm a16z have also accumulated more than $90 million in HYPE, becoming one of the token’s biggest holders. Other traders have leaned bearish, with one whale dumping roughly $36 million in HYPE to shore up a $103 million short as liquidation risk built.

The leverage cut both ways as another account banked $7.5 million in four days on ZEC and HYPE longs before rotating into a leveraged ether position. The crowd of large, visible positions partly reflects new tooling with Nansen recently integrating Hyperliquid perpetuals into its dashboard, turning its analytics layer into a trading terminal where users can mirror a tracked whale’s trade in the same window.

That said, for the perma-bear, the risk is one of symmetry and with open interest elevated and institutional money circling, HYPE’s next move will decide whether the market’s most stubborn bear extends its streak (or becomes the liquidity that fuels the next squeeze).

XRP Ledger Deal Pushes Stablecoins Deeper Into US-Mexico Settlement

Cross-border payments are becoming a major test case for regulated stablecoins. Ripple said on June 9 that Bitso’s MXN-backed stablecoin, MXNB, will be issued on the XRP Ledger and connected to Ripple’s Payments on Decentralized Exchange infrastructure for enterprise settlement.

The expansion targets the U.S.-Mexico corridor, where companies need dependable access to peso and dollar liquidity. Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin and Bitso’s MXNB are intended to support faster settlement flows for institutions handling cross-border payments between the two markets.

Ripple said:

“As part of the collaboration, Bitso’s regulated MXN-backed stablecoin, MXNB, will be issued on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and integrated into Ripple’s evolving Payments on Decentralized Exchange ( DEX) infrastructure.”

“Together with RLUSD, Ripple’s enterprise-grade USD stablecoin, MXNB will support more efficient liquidity and settlement flows for enterprise cross-border payments across the U.S.–Mexico corridor,” the crypto firm added.

Silvio Pegado, Ripple’s managing director for Latin America, said the addition of MXNB and RLUSD to XRPL’s Permissioned DEX is intended to create regulated onchain liquidity infrastructure for enterprise payments between dollars and pesos.

XRPL’s Permissioned DEX gives the partnership its institutional focus. The system is designed for verified counterparties, allowing regulated financial participants to use onchain liquidity while operating within a more controlled settlement environment.

MXNB and RLUSD Create a New Dollar-Peso Liquidity Path

MXNB provides Bitso with a peso-native stablecoin built for enterprise settlement needs. RLUSD provides Ripple with a dollar-denominated asset designed to support institutional cross-border payments.

Bitso brings scale to the integration through more than 10 million users and over 2,000 institutional clients. The company operates across Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, the United States, and Europe.

Pegado noted:

“By bringing together RLUSD and MXNB on the XRPL Permissioned DEX, we’re helping create regulated, onchain liquidity infrastructure purpose-built for enterprise cross-border payments. This is the next evolution of how value moves between dollars and pesos.”

Ben Reid, head of stablecoins at Bitso Business, described MXNB as regulated, peso-native, and built for institutional cross-border payment demands. His comments place the stablecoin within treasury, liquidity, and settlement operations for financial counterparties.

The expansion aligns with Ripple’s broader strategy of connecting traditional payment infrastructure with digital asset liquidity. Ripple and Bitso are using the XRP Ledger to build enterprise settlement infrastructure for one of Latin America’s most active cross-border payment markets.

Georgia arrests alleged cryptocurrency criminals

As part of an international operation in Georgia, law enforcement officers arrested two members of an organised criminal group that investigators say laundered cryptocurrency worth hundreds of millions of US dollars.

At a joint briefing held at Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office and attended by representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, the US Secret Service and Poland’s Central Cybercrime Bureau, Deputy Head of the Investigation Department Beka Kvitsiani said the suspects were foreign nationals. Authorities transferred them to Adjara on 10 June.

According to Kvitsiani, prosecutors in Georgia carried out the large-scale operation with the participation of the US Secret Service, Poland’s Central Cybercrime Bureau, the Łódź Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Georgia’s Interior Ministry Investigation Service and the Ministry of Finance.

During searches, law enforcement officers seized electronic evidence and documents, as well as 173 vehicles, high-value real estate and funds held in bank accounts. Investigators believe the suspects may have used these assets to launder criminal proceeds.

According to prosecutors, the case centres on an organised criminal group operating under the alias AudiA6 since 2022. Investigators say the group provided money-laundering services to cybercriminals and other criminal networks, helping them conceal the origins of illegally obtained cryptocurrency and evade law enforcement scrutiny.

The Prosecutor’s Office said ongoing investigations in several countries have established that members of the group laundered hundreds of millions of dollars between 2022 and 2025.

According to investigators, the group also operated a forum known as Dark2Web, which members used to advertise illegal services and establish contacts between cybercriminals operating in different countries around the world.

Around 100 law enforcement officers from Georgia, Poland and the United States took part in the operation, which received support from Eurojust and Europol.

Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office thanked its international and domestic partners for their cooperation in the operation and said that combating transnational crime remains one of its key priorities.

Georgia arrests alleged cryptocurrency criminals