Bitcoin Top Traders Hold Tight Despite 14% Price Recovery

Key takeaways:

• The Bitcoin long-to-short indicator at Binance hit a 30-day low, signaling a pointy decline in bullish leverage demand.

• US-listed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds reversed a destructive development with $516 million in web inflows following a interval of heavy liquidations.

Bitcoin (BTC) has fluctuated inside a decent 8% vary over the past 4 days, consolidating close to $69,000 after an abrupt slide to $60,130 on Friday. Traders are presently grappling with the first catalysts for this correction, notably because the S&P 500 holds close to file highs and gold costs have climbed 20% over a two-month interval.

The uncertainty following the 52% retreat from Bitcoin’s $126,220 all-time excessive in October 2025 has possible prompted an ultra-skeptical stance amongst prime merchants, stoking issues of additional worth declines.

Whales and market makers on Binance have steadily pared again bullish publicity since Wednesday. This shift is mirrored within the long-to-short ratio, which dropped to 1.20 from 1.93. This studying represents a 30-day low for the trade, suggesting that demand for leveraged lengthy positions in margin and futures markets has cooled, even with BTC hitting 15-month lows.

In the meantime, the long-to-short ratio for prime merchants at OKX hit 1.7 on Tuesday, a pointy reversal from its 4.3 peak on Thursday. This transition aligns with a $1 billion liquidation occasion in leveraged bullish BTC futures, the place market individuals have been pressured to shut positions on account of insufficient margin. Importantly, this particular knowledge level displays pressured exits fairly than a deliberate directional guess on additional draw back.

Sturdy ETF demand suggests Bitcoin whales are nonetheless bullish

Demand for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) serves as sturdy proof that whales haven’t flipped bearish, regardless of current worth weak point.

Since Friday, US-listed Bitcoin ETFs have attracted $516 million in net inflows, reversing a development from the earlier three buying and selling days. Consequently, the situations that triggered the $2.2 billion in web outflows between Jan. 27 and Feb. 5 seem to have light. A number one concept for that stress pointed to an Asian fund that collapsed after leveraging ETF choices positions by way of low cost Japanese yen funding.

Franklin Bi, a normal associate at Pantera Capital, argued {that a} non-crypto-native buying and selling agency is the probably perpetrator. He famous {that a} broader cross-asset margin unwind coincided with sharp corrections in metals. For example, silver confronted a staggering 45% decline within the seven days ending Feb. 5, erasing two months of good points. Nonetheless, official knowledge has but to be launched to validate this thesis.

The Bitcoin choices market adopted the same trajectory, with a spike in neutral-to-bearish methods on Thursday. Traders pivoted after Bitcoin’s worth slipped under $72,000 fairly than anticipating worsening situations.

Associated: Bitcoin sentiment hits record low as contrarian investors say $60K was BTC’s bottom

The BTC choices premium put-to-call ratio at Deribit surged to three.1 on Thursday, closely favoring put (promote) devices, although the indicator has since retreated to 1.7. General, the previous two weeks have been marked by low demand for bullish positioning by means of BTC derivatives. Whereas sentiment has worsened, decrease leverage gives a more healthy setup for sustainable worth good points as soon as the tide turns.

It stays unclear what might shift investor notion again towards Bitcoin, as core values like censorship resistance and strict financial coverage keep unchanged. The weak demand for Bitcoin derivatives shouldn’t be interpreted as a insecurity. As a substitute, it represents a surge in uncertainty till it turns into clear that exchanges and market makers have been unaffected by the value crash.