Hedge funds are risking financial turmoil by shorting $600 billion in US Treasurys

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) warned financial markets that hedge funds could disrupt the all-important US Treasury market because of massive size of their leveraged bets against it.

In total, hedge funds hold a $600 billion short position against the $25 trillion US Treasury market, created using contracts to bet on the future price of the asset, according to a BIS research note from economists Fernando Avalos and Vladyslav Sushko.