Share this article
CME Leveraged Funds Raise Bets Against Bitcoin to Record High as Futures Premium Spikes
Earlier this month, analysts had warned of renewed interest in cash and carry arbitrage.
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:43 p.m. Published Oct 26, 2021, 9:57 p.m.
Leveraged funds on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) raised their bets against bitcoin rising to a record high in the week ended Oct. 19, possibly to profit from the widening gap between futures and spot markets prices.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Commitments of Traders report released on Friday showed leveraged funds held a net short position of 31,000 contracts in the seven days to Oct. 19, marking an increase of 6,000 from the previous week.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Record shorts by leverage funds does not necessarily mean these traders had a bearish bias. They may have raised short positions in the futures market and simultaneously bought the cryptocurrency in the spot market, booking the so-called carry trade.
The strategy is initiated when futures trade at a notable premium to the spot price and trades can profit from an eventual convergence of prices in the two markets.
The annualized premium in the front-month bitcoin futures contracts surged from 1% to 20% in the run-up to ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF launch on Oct. 18, and was last seen at 13%. The three-month rolling premium also rose from 3% to 16% before tapering to 11.7%.
ProShares’ ETF, which invests in the CME-listed bitcoin futures contracts, made a strong debut last Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, while Valkyrie’s futures-based ETF went live on Friday.
Earlier this month, analysts had warned of an uptick in futures premium and renewed interest in cash and carry arbitrage.
Also read: Bitcoin Futures ETFs May Boost Cash and Carry Yields
Sizin için daha fazlası
Bilinmesi gerekenler:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
Sizin için daha fazlası
Oracle TikTok deal lifts AI mining stocks as bitcoin tags $88,000
Oracle shares jumped 6% in pre-market on Friday as TikTok's U.S. agreement helped calm AI bubble fears after a volatile macro week.
Bilinmesi gerekenler:
- Oracle shares climbed about 6% to around $190 Friday's pre market trading.
- TikTok agreed to form a U.S. joint venture led by American investors, reinforcing Oracle’s role as a core AI cloud and data security provider easing AI concerns.
- The deal helped improve broader risk sentiment with bitcoin back above $88,000, also lifting AI mining stocks in the process.
Top Stories
