A look at CFTC-regulated, and self-reported bitcoin derivative data: hedge-funds at an all time high in CFTC net short position this month

Back in June, according to CME Group, its bitcoin futures product cracked yet another all-time record in both volumes and open interest, with more than $1.7 billion in notional value traded on Friday, June 26 (surpassing the previous record by more than 30%). While CME Group finished the update with a proclamation that "institutional interest continues to build," for its bitcoin futures product, weekly CFTC COT report data continues to tell a more nuanced story: muted to lower total reportable traders, and a higher concentration or crowding of notional value within the largest bitcoin futures traders that are short.

Since peeks set in July at ~56 traders, CME has seen a reduction in total reportable traders by about ~20% from all time highs, with 46 total traders hitting the product last week. For context at its peak, 56 total traders puts the product in the ~70th percentile of most active products by total traders among all futures products in the Traders of Financial Futures report in 2019. Comparable products with the same number of traders this year includes the CME Swiss Franc at ~40, CME Cash Settled Butter at  ~40, and 3 month SOFR at ~40.