CME Exchange Sees Bitcoin Futures Premium Narrow to 4.3%, Reflecting Cooling Institutional Demand
The premium on Bitcoin futures contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has narrowed to 4.3%, marking the lowest level since October 2023. Despite Bitcoin maintaining a price above $100,000, this contraction in the basis trade suggests growing institutional hesitation or skepticism about near-term upside potential.
Parallel declines in perpetual futures funding rates across offshore exchanges further reinforce this trend. Negative funding rates now indicate a bearish bias among Leveraged traders, with arbitrage opportunities diminishing as spreads fall below profitable thresholds. "When yield spreads compress like this, ETF inflows shift from arbitrage-driven to purely directional bets," analysts at 10x Research noted.