The Bitcoin funding rate has turned negative for the first time since October 2023. This negative rate indicates that traders are now paying to open new long positions in the perpetual futures market, signaling a decrease in Bitcoin demand after a surge in March.

In March, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $73,000 before experiencing a correction of nearly 13%, currently trading at $63,400 according to CoinMarketCap.

CryptoQuant reports a decrease in net inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs recently. The Bitcoin halving, which reduced miner rewards, has also contributed to a decrease in traders’ interest in opening long positions.

“It certainly means that the desire for traders to open long positions has eased,” says Julio Moreno, CryptoQuant’s Head of Research.

Buyer enthusiasm for BTC has cooled off, partly due to escalating risks in the Middle East and anticipated delays in Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The decline in funding rate coincides with a drop in daily inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. On April 24, the net daily capital outflow in the spot Bitcoin ETF sector was $120.64 million. Only two crypto funds, Fidelity Bitcoin Spot ETF (FBTC) and ARK Invest/21 Shares Bitcoin fund, received capital inflows.

According to Santiment, Bitcoin whales have accumulated 266k BTC since January.

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