NEWS
Leveraged long positions on Bitfinex have increased to $5.1 billion on February 19. This sharp increase has sparked speculation that whales are preparing for a bull market. The mystery surrounding this bullish move deepens as the BTC price has remained stable near $96,000 since February 5. Traders are wondering if this signals an upcoming bull run.
Bitfinex traders are known for quickly opening or closing Bitcoin margin positions of $100. This suggests that whales and large arbitrage desks are active in the market. Currently, Bitcoin margin on Bitfinex has reached 54,595 BTC, the highest level in almost three months. This increase is largely due to the low annual interest rate of 0.44% offered on the platform.
Regardless of the reason behind these large margin long positions, lending markets are currently showing a strong bias towards bullish bets on BTC. The low cost of borrowing Bitcoin creates opportunities for market-neutral arbitrage, allowing traders to take advantage of low interest rates.
For comparison, the annualized funding rate for Bitcoin perpetual futures is 10%. This difference between margin and futures markets creates an opportunity for the ‘cash and carry’ strategy. In this strategy, traders buy Bitcoin on the spot market and sell BTC futures at the same time to profit from the price difference.
On February 19, the S&P 500 index hit an all-time high, while gold, another safe haven asset, rose to $2,930, approaching its record high. These moves indicate that investors are positioning for inflationary risks, reinforcing BTC's upside potential as the asset transitions from a speculative bet to a global hedge backed by sovereign wealth funds like Abu Dhabi's Mubadala.