Bitfinex: CME bitcoin unpositioned squaring contract falls suggest BTC price will fall further
The latest weekly report from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex shows that the U.S. spot bitcoin ETF lost more than $100 million per trading day last week, with a total outflow of $544.10 million.
Analysts at the trading platform said that the outflows were the combined result of weak ETF investors reacting to short-term negative news and the basis/funding arbitrage position squaring caused by negative funding rates. One of the signs of the basis/funding arbitrage unwinding was a significant drop in unpositioned squaring contracts for Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and other trading platforms. The reduction in open positions coincided with negative funding rates on multiple exchanges over the past week and also with net ETF outflows, indicating a significant reduction in funding arbitrage transactions related to ETF fund flows. In light of this, it is important to recognize that not all ETF outflows should be interpreted as direct spot sales. The market sentiment remains bearish due to weakness in the lower timeframe of cryptoassets (1-minute to 15-minute charts).