Bitcoin funding rates turned positive as BTC held $80,000. The annualised funding rate for perpetual futures briefly hit 6% on Monday, touching neutral-to-bullish territory for the first time in over a month. Still, the indicator has mostly stayed negative, signalling more demand for bearish leverage. Professional traders remain skeptical.
The cryptocurrency flirted with $82,000 on Monday. It sparked a brief surge in demand for bullish leverage. Bitcoin has held near $80,000 for over a week now. That prompted many traders to bet on further upside. However, derivative metrics show that professional players remain unconvinced. The question is whether $85,000 is actually within reach.
Bitcoin funding rates turn positive but ETF flows sour
Outflows from US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday and Friday likely fuelled the bearish sentiment. Since ETF flows are a go-to proxy for institutional interest, seeing a reversal right as Bitcoin failed to break $82,000 on several attempts is triggering real concern across the market. The timing is awkward.
Bitcoin funding rates turned positive, yes. But the ETF flows tell a different story. The flows are negative. That lack of confidence among bulls doesn’t necessarily block further gains. It does highlight a cautious mood among traders. The macro books are not reloading longs yet.
Miners pivot to AI, hashrate holds steady
The artificial intelligence sector continues to capture investors’ attention. Several Bitcoin mining firms pivoted to high-performance computing. Iren announced a massive $34 billion deal with Nvidia on Friday. Core Scientific recently announced plans to expand its campus in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The miners are hedging their bets.
| Metric | Latest | Prior | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funding rate (annualised) | 6% | Negative for a month | +6% |
| Bitcoin hashrate (7-day avg) | 970 EH/s | Peak 1,150 EH/s | +5% in 2 weeks |
| Options delta skew | 10% | 10% (unchanged) | Flat |
| BTC vs all-time high | -35% | N/A | N/A |
Bitcoin’s hashrate dropped to its lowest point in eight weeks on 26 April. But the indicator showed plenty of resilience throughout May. The estimated processing power supporting the Bitcoin network climbed 5% in just two weeks, reaching 970 exahashes per second. Whilst this is still far from the peak of 1,150 exahashes per second, the fear that miners would abandon the network for AI proved irrational. The hashrate held.
Options skew signals downside fear
The Bitcoin options delta skew (put-call) sat at 10% on Monday, unchanged from the previous week. Put (sell) options are trading at a premium. That hints that whales and market makers aren’t comfortable holding downside risk right now. Whether the main issue is the economy or geopolitics, professional traders clearly fear a correction. The skew is not flipping.
Outside of crypto, Brent crude oil prices jumped above $105 on Monday. The Strait of Hormuz remains partially closed due to the war in Iran. US President Donald Trump called Iran’s latest demands
