Analysis: Bitcoin shorts pay to bet on further declines, futures positions near yearly lows

PANews, September 28 — According to CoinDesk, capital is flowing out of the Bitcoin futures market, and traders who remain are willing to pay to maintain short positions. Coinglass data shows that Bitcoin open interest stood at 652,000 BTC as of press time, one of the lowest levels this year, after peaking at 800,000 BTC earlier in the year. Despite Bitcoin's 40% price gain in the third quarter, traders are still avoiding leveraged bets. Perpetual contract funding rates have turned negative again, averaging -0.3% across major exchanges, indicating that shorts are actively chasing trades and are willing to pay longs to maintain bearish positions.

Bitcoin fell more than 2% over the past 24 hours to around $82,800, after Trump declined to rule out further strikes on Iran before the U.S. midterm elections. Gold also fell 3% over the past 24 hours to around $4,150 per ounce. The U.S. dollar index broke above 101, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield above 5.2% and the 30-year above 5.51%.