CME Hedge Funds Flip to Net Long Bitcoin Futures

Hedge funds trading Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have shifted to a net long position, a rare move that signals a potential change in institutional sentiment toward the cryptocurrency. The development, highlighted by Ki Young Ju, CEO of on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, marks a departure from years of structural short positioning driven by a popular arbitrage strategy.

The shift was announced on August 10, 2026. Historically, leveraged funds on the CME have maintained net short positions in Bitcoin futures as part of the basis trade. This market-neutral strategy involves simultaneously buying spot Bitcoin or an exchange-traded fund and selling futures contracts to profit from the price differential, or basis, between the two. The short futures leg is a necessary component of this carry trade.

According to Ki Young Ju, the funds are now net long, meaning they are no longer primarily running the basis trade. Instead, they appear to be making a directional bet that Bitcoin's price will rise. This change suggests that the basis trade has become less attractive. The annualized three-month Bitcoin futures basis has fallen to approximately 3%, which is below the...