MarketPR
$BTC is in focus after leveraged funds on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange turned net long on Bitcoin futures for the first time in years, a shift flagged by data firm CryptoQuant.
The move breaks from a years-long net short stance built largely on the basis trade, a market-neutral strategy. Whether US spot demand confirms the paper bet is what the tape is now watching.
The basis trade and why the flip matters For years, leveraged funds (the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's label for a group that consists mostly of hedge funds) held net short positions on CME Bitcoin futures.
The shorts came from the basis trade: buy Bitcoin on the spot market, sell an equal amount of futures contracts, and lock in the small price gap at expiry.
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