After a dour performance throughout the week, the price of Bitcoin experienced 
a fair amount of bullish impetus on Friday, February 13th. Going into the 
weekend, the premier cryptocurrency seemed on its way to reclaim the 
psychologically relevant $70,000 level. Interestingly, recent on-chain data 
shows that this latest bullish spurt might be the start of, at least, a short- 
term rally for the Bitcoin price. Is Bitcoin On The Verge Of A Short Squeeze? 
In a Quicktake post on the CryptoQuant platform, market analyst CryptoOnchain 
revealed that the Bitcoin Funding Rate on Binance, the world’s largest 
cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has dropped to a critically low 
level — one not seen in over a year. The relevant indicator here is the 14-day 
Simple Moving Average (SMA-14) of BTC Funding Rate. Related Reading: Ethereum 
Derivatives Reset Raises Questions About Next Price Move: What Happens Next? 
Typically, the Funding Rate metric estimates the periodic fee paid by traders 
in a derivatives market for a particular cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, in this 
case). When the funding rate is in the positive territory, it usually implies 
that the long traders (investors with buy positions) are paying a fee to short 
traders (investors with sell positions) in the derivatives market. On the flip 
side, a negative funding rate metric, as is the case currently, suggests that 
the payment is going from the short traders to the long traders. Data from 
CryptoQuant shows that the 14-day SMA of the Bitcoin Funding Rate on Binance 
has fallen to -0.002, its lowest level since September 2024. As CryptoOnchain 
rightly noted, a deeply negative funding rate, especially one that lasts over 
a 14-day average, indicates that bears (short traders) are increasingly 
betting against the premier cryptocurrency. The market analyst noted that 
these extremely negative values often correlate with the bottom of severe 
downward trends. CryptoOnchain wrote in the post: From an on-chain and market 
psychology perspective, deeply negative funding rates often serve as a strong 
Contrarian Signal. The market currently appears to be heavily “overcrowded” on 
the short side. From a historical perspective, this on-chain trend has often 
set the stage for a potent short squeeze, where a minor price rebound could 
trigger a cascade of liquidations of the mounting short positions. This 
cascade of short liquidations often serves as jet fuel, further propelling the 
Bitcoin price to the upside. Bitcoin Price At A Glance As of this writing, the 
price of Bitcoin stands at around $69,000, reflecting an over 5% jump in the 
past 24 hours. Related Reading: Historical Pattern From 2017 Signals Bitcoin 
Price Crash To $35,000 Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin Funding Rate Falls To Critical Level — Short Squeeze Incoming?

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Elon Musk’s X to enable crypto and stock trading with Smart Cashtags

Ethereum climbed back above $2,000 after a softer-than-expected US CPI print, 
and the move has traders and analysts debating whether the worst is behind the 
coin or if this is a temporary relief rally. Related Reading: Calm Down: 
Ethereum Has Survived 8 Major 50% Falls, Lee Reminds Investors Reports say 
futures open interest has fallen sharply over the last 30 days, funding rates 
have swung into deeply negative territory, and some on-chain metrics point to 
a clustered support zone below current prices. Open Interest Drop Raises 
Questions According to CryptoQuant, the headline figure showing an 80 million 
ETH decline in open interest across major venues grabbed attention. That 
number, if taken at face value, would be huge. It suggests large positions 
were closed rather than new ones being put on. But the scale of the change 
also invites scrutiny; reporting errors or dollar-value comparisons mislabeled 
as ETH can happen. Still, a sizable pullback in futures exposure on exchanges 
including Binance, Gate, Bybit and OKX has been logged, and that much appears 
real. Funding Rates And The Crowd Funding rates on some platforms are pushing 
to levels not seen in roughly three years. When traders pay to hold short 
positions, it signals strong bearish conviction. It is reported that such 
extremes tend to be followed by a sharp reversal as the crowd can become one- 
sided, and that leads to a quick reversal as the market sentiment changes. 
This was seen at the end of 2022, where there was extreme shorting followed by 
a quick reversal. This does not mean that it will happen this time around as 
markets can remain one-sided for longer than expected. Support Zones And 
Technical Targets Glassnode’s on-chain data reveals a significant cost-basis 
area between $1,880 and $1,900, where about 1.3 million ETH was traded. The 
$2,000 mark is acting as a psychological anchor and is reinforced by moving 
average clusters. A breakout from the recent falling wedge pattern points to 
an initial measured target near $2,150, a ceiling that would be tested before 
higher resistance near $2,260 and then $2,500. Those levels are not 
certainties; broader market tone and Bitcoin’s direction will influence 
whether they are reached. Related Reading: XRP Set To Dethrone Bitcoin Within 
6 Years, Entrepreneur Says Reduced open interest lowers the risk of cascade 
liquidations for now, which can tame intraday volatility. At the same time, 
low funding rates show that bearish bets are still active and could be 
squeezed if momentum turns. Reports say accumulation wallets increased inflows 
when prices dipped, hinting at longer-term conviction among some investors. 
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Ethereum Open Interest Plunges: Cooling Off Or Cracks Forming?

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