Most of those could be short positions, according to data tracked by Laevitas that shows the funding rate, the cost of holding long/short perpetual futures positions, has historically been neutral to negative in recent weeks. A negative funding rate means that the shorts are paying the longs to keep the bear position open. In other words, the market has a bearish bias. This is also evident from the depressed futures premium, also known as the basis, on major exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a proxy for institutional activity. The three-month premium recently fell to 1,1% annualized on CME and 2% on Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by open interest and volumes.