Bitcoin Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large cryptocurrency speculators cut back on their bearish net positions in the Bitcoin futures markets in January, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (COT) data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday.
This latest COT data is from later in January due to the government shutdown which suspended the releases. The CFTC is releasing data on Tuesdays and Fridays going forward until the data is back up to date.
The non-commercial futures contracts of Bitcoin futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of -1,010 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday, January 22nd. This was a weekly gain of 194 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,204 net contracts.
This week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position (longs) sliding by -291 contracts to a weekly total of 1,872 contracts which was overtaken by the gross bearish position (shorts) which saw a reduction by -485 contracts for the week to a total of 2,882 contracts.
The speculative bitcoin position improved for a second straight week and fell to the lowest bearish position in six weeks through January 22nd.
Bitcoin Futures:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame through January 22nd, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the Bitcoin Futures (Front Month) closed at approximately $3580 which was an uptick of $45 from the previous close of $3535, according to unofficial market data.