Negative Bitcoin futures funding follows long liquidations

Bitcoin perpetual futures funding remained negative after Bitcoin briefly dipped under $75,000 at the U.S. market open, a move that coincided with roughly $120 million in long-liquidations.

Perpetual funding has been negative since Monday. On most exchanges, a negative funding rate means traders with short positions pay to maintain those positions. Market data show about $365 million of bearish positions were liquidated since Monday.

Perpetual funding is settled roughly every eight hours. An annualized funding rate of 20% equals about 0.05% per day; at 20x leverage that converts to roughly a 1% daily cost. Exchanges calculate and apply these payments at each settlement interval.

Options market premiums for puts trailed equivalent call premiums over the past week on a major crypto options platform. At the same time, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $921 million in net inflows over five trading days. Corporate accumulation continued, including additional purchases by MicroStrategy.

Bitcoin’s short-term price moves have tracked the S&P 500 in recent weeks. The U.S. stock market reached an all-time high on Thursday while Bitcoin remained well below its prior peak of $126,200. Bitcoin failed in recent sessions to re-establish the $76,000 level.

Recent U.S. economic data showed industrial production fell 0.5% in March, with automotive output down 2.8%. Continuing jobless claims rose 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.818 million for the week ended April 4.

Perpetual funding remained negative at the latest settlement. Market participants continue to monitor liquidation figures, derivatives funding and ETF flows as separate indicators of trading activity and spot demand.