Bitcoin Futures Traders Refuse To Capitulate Even As BTC Price Drop...

Bitcoin derivatives remain stable despite BTC revisiting the $89,000 level. Is the futures market’s resilience an early hint that traders expect a price reversal?

BTC derivatives metrics show traders taking precautions, but the data suggests traders are not reaching distressed levels yet.

Bitcoin ETF outflows and tech sector weakness keep sentiment subdued, reducing confidence that Bitcoin can hold above $89,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) retested the $89,000 level on Wednesday after an unsuccessful attempt to recover $93,500 in the previous day’s trading session. The move surprised traders and led to $144 million in liquidations from leveraged bullish BTC positions. Regardless of the drivers behind the correction, Bitcoin derivatives markets showed stability, suggesting a bullish setup.

Bitcoin’s monthly futures premium held near 4% above spot markets on Wednesday, slightly below the 5% level commonly viewed as neutral. Some analysts argued the metric briefly turned negative as Bitcoin traded under $89,200 on Tuesday, but aggregated figures from major exchanges indicate otherwise. A discount in futures contracts typically signals excessive confidence from bears.

To assess whether retail traders were more heavily affected by the decline, it is useful to examine perpetual futures. These contracts tend to mirror spot markets closely but rely on a funding rate to balance leverage. Under usual conditions, buyers (longs) pay between 6% and 12% annualized to maintain positions, while readings below that range point to a bearish backdrop.

The BTC perpetual futures funding rate stood near 4% on Wednesday, in line with the average of the past two weeks. Although this level still reflects a bearish stance, there are no signs of panic or excessive confidence from bears. The weakness appears backward-looking, as Bitcoin has been trending lower since reaching its all-time high on Oct. 6.

The BTC options delta skew remained close to 11% over the past week, signaling that traders have not materially adjusted their risk outlook. Caution persists, as put (sell) options continue to trade above the neutral 6% premium relative to call (buy) options. This indicates that whales and market makers remain uneasy about downside exposure, though current levels are far from extreme stress.

Traders’ sentiment has been pressured by five consecutive sessions of net outflows from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). More than $2.26 billion has exited these products, generating steady s

Source: CoinTelegraph