Bitcoin is looking to reclaim $64,000 from a possible short squeeze after falling to $63,000 following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
At the same time, according to CoinGlass, perpetual futures funding rates fell to -6%, the second lowest level in the last three months. The last time funding was this negative was on February 6, when Bitcoin bottomed near $60,000.
Perpetual funding rates represent periodic payments exchanged between traders on perpetual futures markets. When rates are positive, traders holding long positions pay those holding short positions. When rates go negative, short positions pay off long positions.
Deeply negative funding typically signals aggressive short positioning and bearish sentiment, as traders are willing to pay a premium to maintain their bearish bets.
Meanwhile, margined open interest on the coins increased from 668,000 BTC to 687,000 BTC in the last 24 hours.
Measuring open interest in BTC terms removes the distortion caused by price fluctuations. The increase in open interest alongside negative funding suggests growing participation, with a growing share of traders positioned for further declines.
Over the past 24 hours, more than $500 million in crypto positions have been liquidated, according to CoinGlass data. The bulk of these liquidations were long positions, which amounted to more than $420 million, underscoring the scale of forced selling as prices fell.
