CryptoQuant Founder: Bitcoin Futures Leverage Still at High Levels, ETFs and DOT Become Key Structural Buying Pressure

BlockBeats News, August 13th, CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju posted that Bitcoin OG traders have just gone through the most profitable cycle in history. In contrast to the past, this cycle saw ETFs and Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT) as the main buyers instead of exchange traders, driving Binance traders' unrealized profits to nearly three times the peak of the 2021 cycle.

He mentioned that the current Bitcoin price range is similar to two years ago, indicating that the market is currently in a deleveraging phase. A significant amount of unrealized profits accumulated during this cycle flowed into futures leverage. As traders took profits, the BTC price is now stable around Binance traders' average cost basis.

Ki Young Ju also pointed out that the on-chain market leverage ratio (BTC/USDT futures open interest divided by USDT reserves) had once exceeded 0.5 but is now around 0.3, still higher than levels before the ETF introduction. If ETF funds continue to flow in, the futures leverage ratio is expected to rise again.

Furthermore, he recalled that in 2023, OG whales had made large-scale purchases when BTC was approaching $16,000. The buyer/seller ratio indicated that a significant amount of market buy-side positions were established near the bottom of the cycle.