Bitcoin’s price has been on a tear lately, leaving many wondering if this is the real deal or just a temporary surge. Let’s look at some data to see what’s going on.
Funding Rates: A Key Indicator?
Crypto analyst Burak Kesmeci looked at Binance’s Bitcoin funding rates to see if they could predict short-term price movements. Funding rates are basically fees exchanged between traders in the futures market.
- Positive Funding Rate: Long traders (betting the price goes up) pay short traders (betting the price goes down). This usually means bullish sentiment.
- Negative Funding Rate: Short traders pay long traders. This suggests bearish sentiment.
Kesmeci found a strong correlation between positive Binance funding rates and short-term Bitcoin price increases.
Two Case Studies
He highlighted two periods where this correlation was clear:
- April 10th – 22nd: Positive funding rates (above 0.0030) coincided with Bitcoin’s price rising from ~$79,000 to ~$93,000.
- May 6th – 10th: Again, positive funding rates led to a price jump from ~$95,000 to ~$103,000.
The Current Situation
Because Binance is the biggest crypto exchange, its funding rates are considered very important. Right now, they’re positive, which, according to Kesmeci, supports the idea of a short-term upward trend for Bitcoin. This, combined with the rising spot market price, suggests a strong bullish momentum.
Bitcoin’s Price Today
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $103,605, up 0.5% in the last 24 hours.