Share this article
Bitcoin Shorts Dropped to 11-Month Lows During Sunday's Sell-Off
Funds allocated to BTC/USD short positions on Bitfinex fell to 11-month lows on Sunday as the price of bitcoin fell more than 8 percent.
By Sam Ouimet
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:52 p.m. Published Feb 25, 2019, 10:06 p.m.
The number of short bets placed against the price of bitcoin on at least one notable exchange declined to their lowest total in 11 months on Sunday.
Data from Bitfinex shows that bitcoin’s 8 percent drop in price on Sunday was accompanied by a 12 percent drop in the notional value of open short positions, with the total amount of such trades dropping from a daily high of 19,604 to 17,085 BTC, the lowest amount allocated on the platform since March 12 of last year.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The development comes just a week after the total value tied up in all short trades on the exchange reached a six-month low, one of a number of signs that would suggest investors are losing confidence in the idea that bitcoin's price will further decrease.
Still, the market has appeared inconclusive in its reading of what would appear to be positive indicators.
Up until 3:00 UTC on Sunday, bitcoin was boasting a near 15 percent week-over-week price increase, but it ended just 3 percent higher as a result of Sunday’s sell-off, according to pricing data from CoinDesk.
When such a harsh rejection from a key technical resistance occurs, strengthened bearish sentiment can usually be quantified by an increase in the total amount of funds allocated to BTC/USD short positions, or bets that profit from future declines in price, yet the developments on Sunday contradicted this notion.
BTC/USD Shorts on Bitfinex
At the same time, the bitcoin-denominated value of all BTC/USD long positions on Bitfinex Sunday fell to just 26,433, which was less than 1 percent lower than it started.
As a result, that lack of short interest following the considerable drop in bitcoin's price is more likely a sign of investors taking profit after the bullish start to the week rather than fresh selling hitting the market.
What's more, the ratio of the total BTC/USD long to short positions on Bitfinex currently reads 1.43 to 1, making it clear the drop has not completely scared off those favoring a near-term bullish outlook.
Disclosure: The author holds BTC, LTC, ETH, ZEC, AST, REQ, OMG, FUEL, ZIL, 1st and AMP at the time of writing.
Charts bear image via Shutterstock; Charts by TradingView
More For You
What to know:
- 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.
More For You
From Lockstep to Lag, Bitcoin Poised to Catch Up With Small Cap Highs
The Federal Reserve begins Treasury bill purchases later Friday, starting with $8.2 billion as part of its reserve management program.
What to know:
- The Russell 2000 index has pushed to new all time highs alongside strength across U.S. equities and metals, while bitcoin remains 27% below its peak, marking a rare divergence after years of moving in sync.
- With small-cap stocks highly sensitive to falling interest rates and 2026 earning-per-share growth expectations near 49%, according to Goldman Sachs, improving macroeconomic conditions could realign bitcoin and crypto with small-cap strength.
- The Federal Reserve starts Treasury bill purchases today with an initial $8.2 billion operation, the first step in a $40 billion reserve management program running until April.
Top Stories
