CryptoQuant Founder Corrects CME Bitcoin Futures Position Analysis

CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju said he corrected his earlier analysis of CME Bitcoin futures positions on X. According to Odaily, he said he had mistakenly labeled "Total Reportables" as "Leveraged Funds," which led to the view that hedge funds had rarely turned net long on BTC futures, while leveraged funds still held a net short position.Ki Young Ju cited CFTC futures positioning data as of August 4. Large institutional traders, including asset managers, market makers, and dealers, were slightly net long, and he said his earlier view that institutions were leaning long still stood. Leveraged funds remained net short on BTC futures, but their standard BTC futures net short position has fallen by about 50% over the past year in BTC terms.He said the decline was mainly due to lower basis trading returns. When futures basis returns fell below U.S. Treasury yields, arbitrage opportunities narrowed. Leveraged funds were net long on Micro BTC futures, but the position was small at about 394 BTC, or roughly 1% of the size of their standard BTC futures net short position.Ki Young Ju said leveraged funds have not yet turned net long overall, but their long-term structural short has weakened significantly. He said this may reflect arbitrage unwinding and adjustments in directional positioning.