Bitcoin Traders Bet on a Rebound as BTC Dips Below $88K, Kraken Data Shows
Despite Bitcoin (BTC) plunging to a three-month low, traders on Kraken are aggressively increasing their long positions, signaling optimism for a potential recovery, said Alexia Theodorou, head of derivatives at Kraken.
BTC fell below $88,000 as global risk-off sentiment intensified, with Nasdaq futures sliding and the Japanese yen strengthening—both indicators of cautious investor behavior.
Ahead of the drop, Binance saw a $1 billion spike in futures open interest, suggesting an influx of short positions betting on further downside. However, Kraken data reveals that some traders are taking the opposite stance, pushing the exchange’s perpetual long-short ratio to an all-time high of 0.8.
“Kraken traders are showing strong dip-buying interest, even as Bitcoin trades at multi-month lows,” Theodorou told CoinDesk. “Our BTC perpetual markets have seen a record jump in long positions, with open interest hitting a four-week peak.”
Still, the overall market remains net short, meaning more traders are betting against BTC than in favor of it.
“While this surge in longs reflects growing confidence, the presence of excessive leverage means the market remains vulnerable to a long squeeze, which could drive further downside before stability returns,” Theodorou warned.
