Futures traders are betting against Bitcoin while spot buyers quietly do the heavy lifting, a dynamic that has historically preceded sharp rallies. Bitcoin’s perpetual futures funding rate has turned negative, meaning short sellers are now paying long holders to maintain their positions. What negative funding actually meansPerpetual futures contracts don’t have expiration dates, which means exchanges need a mechanism to keep futures prices tethered to spot prices. Advertisement2026’s negative funding streak has been historicBitcoin experienced its longest sustained negative funding streak in a decade earlier this year, stretching 67 consecutive days by early May. A negative funding rate during a broader risk-off environment means something very different than negative funding during a risk-on backdrop.