Analyst: Coexistence of High Hodling and Continuous Negative Fee Rate Indicates Increasing Market Complexity

BlockBeats News, April 23rd, according to analyst (@Murphychen888) social media post, on-chain data shows that the Bitcoin perpetual futures contract open interest (OI) has rebounded to a recent high, about 472,000 BTC, indicating that market leverage is re-accumulating.

At the same time, shorts continue to dominate the active trading direction, causing the perpetual price to remain in a prolonged spot discount state. During yesterday's peak period, shorts were paying an average hourly funding rate of over $600,000, far above the 7-day average ($197,000), significantly increasing the shorts' cost of holding positions.

The analysis pointed out that high OI combined with persistent negative funding rates could trigger a short squeeze during a market rebound, becoming fuel for upward price movement. Historical data shows that after the 7-day average of the Long/Short Ratio turned negative on March 9th and April 13th, there were two phase rebounds.

Unlike the rapid retracement from the $97,000 resistance level in January, the current market structure indicates a more complex short-term market outlook. In the current market environment, shorts face sustained funding cost pressure, while longs have not yet established a clear trend.

Overall, although a high funding rate does not necessarily trigger a short squeeze, the combination of high open interest and cost pressure has made the odds and logic of short chasing no longer have a clear advantage. The market is now operating in a rhythm of "event-driven -> liquidation squeeze -> return to oscillation."