Leveraged funds held a CME Bitcoin futures net short roughly 272 times larger than their Coinbase net long as of Aug. 25, CFTC data show, though analysts say the gap alone can't reveal whether a squeeze is coming. Bitcoin itself traded near $78,700, holding most of its near-25% August gain after a brief dip tied to reported US-Iran military clashes.
Leveraged funds held a 41,252 BTC-equivalent net short across CME Bitcoin futures on Aug. 25, according to a CFTC snapshot cited by CryptoSlate. That position was roughly 272 times larger than the same category's 151 BTC net long in Coinbase's nano Bitcoin perpetual-style contract.
The short position keeps growing
CME's combined open interest across its standard and Micro Bitcoin futures reached 118,267 BTC-equivalent on Aug. 25, versus 2,322 BTC on Coinbase. From Aug. 18 to Aug. 25, the standard-contract net position shifted 3,295 BTC further short while the micro net moved 777 BTC further short, a combined 4,072 BTC bearish change in one week.
That shift can't safely be read as an outright bearish bet, however. The CFTC's data don't link reported futures accounts to spot Bitcoin, exchange-traded fund holdings, or cross-venue hedges, so the snapshot cannot distinguish directional shorts from cash-and-carry trades built around the same contracts.
Bitcoin holds most of its August rally
Bitcoin traded near $78,700 on Aug. 31, down about 0.4% over 24 hours, according to crypto.news. The price had climbed above $81,000 the previous week before Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole remarks pushed the market-implied odds of a September rate hike to about 57%, up from 39.9% on Aug. 21.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs still finished the week with $924.5 million in net inflows, Bitfinex data show, even after Friday's session alone saw $201.9 million in withdrawals.
Geopolitical shock briefly rattles the price
Bitcoin fell to an intraday low of $77,024 late Sunday after reports of renewed military clashes between US and Iranian forces, before recovering to near $78,600. The dip briefly pulled Bitcoin's market capitalization down to $1.57 trillion.
Despite the swing, Bitcoin remained on course to close August with gains of just under 25%, trimming its 2026 losses from near 30% at the end of July to just over 10%.
Sources: CryptoSlate, crypto.news, Bitcoin.com
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