'Basis traders' are done dragging down Bitcoin price, says investment adviser

So-called "basis traders" are done dragging down the Bitcoin market just as one dominant buyer is accelerating its purchases, according to Alex Blume, CEO of investment adviser Two Prime.

The sharp drop in futures positioning shows that what's known as the “basis trade,” which weighed on the market for months, is largely finished. Meanwhile, Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy has stockpiled nearly $60 billion in the top crypto.

“When directional capital makes a decision, it moves [the] price,” Blume said in a note shared with DL News. “The combination of one large directional buyer systematically accumulating while hedged yield farmers exit is an unusual market structure.”

Blume’s assessment lands amid a striking divergence between the cryptocurrency industry and other global markets. On Friday, the S&P 500 hit a new record high while Bitcoin still remains roughly 40% below its October peak near $126,000.

What exactly changed?

For much of the past year, sophisticated institutions ran what is known as the basis trade. The trade involves investors buying spot Bitcoin or exchange-traded fund shares and short futures contracts to earn the difference in pricing.

In simple terms, it is a yield play, not a bet that Bitcoin’s price will skyrocket anytime soon. The trade unwinding is one of the key drags on the cryptocurrency market, Blume argued.

"What we’ve been watching is a basis unwind masquerading as a bear market,” Blume said.

Open interest in CME Bitcoin futures has fallen under $10 billion, levels last seen in 2024, Coinglass data shows.

A basis unwind means those hedged positions are being closed. Investors are exiting the futures short and reducing the paired spot exposure. That mechanical selling can weigh on price even if sentiment is not collapsing.

Blume argues that phase is largely complete. Futures open interest is down sharply. Perpetual funding rates — payments between traders in leveraged crypto contracts — have hovered slightly negative. That suggests many traders are leaning short, paying to hold bearish bets.

At the same time, Strategy has accelerated purchases. Between April 6 and April 13, the digital asset treasury acquired roughly 24,761 Bitcoin across two tranches worth about $2.7 billion. Its total holdings now sit just under 781,000 Bitcoin. A $44 billion equity issuance plan supports continued buying.

Blume calls this a “structural bid at scale.” In other words, one large buyer is accumulating tokens consistently while hedge funds step back.

“It has real implications for how the next leg of price discovery develops.”

Crypto market movers 

• Bitcoin is down 1.4% over the past 24 hours, trading at $74,367.
• Ethereum is down 2.4% over the past hours at $2,274.

What we’re reading 

• South Korean forgers trading elite university degrees for $200 worth of crypto — report — DL News
• Illegal Russian crypto exchange operators to face 7 years of hard labour under new laws — DL News
• World Liberty Financial Proposes Burning 4.5 Billion Insider Tokens in 62-Billion Token Vesting Overhaul — Unchained
• The most important DEX nobody talks about — Milk Road
• UK financial regulator asks stablecoin firms to launch in its ‘sandbox’ and help shape regulation — DL News

Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email him at lance@dlnews.com