Bitcoin was kind of quiet at the end of April, but as May began, it started moving again. Now it’s back near $98,000 and getting really close to $100,000 — a number that many people in the crypto world are excited about.
It hasn’t hit $100,000 since February, and for the past few months, it’s been stuck going up and down without any big jumps. But now, some new data suggests Bitcoin might be ready to rise again.
What Does “Negative Funding Rate” Mean?
A crypto analyst named Amr Taha shared something interesting on a site called CryptoQuant. He said that Bitcoin’s “funding rate” on Binance (a big crypto exchange) has dropped a lot in the past few days.
If that sounds confusing, here’s a simple way to think about it:
In crypto futures trading, people can bet that prices will go up (called “longs”) or go down (called “shorts”). The funding rate is a fee that traders pay each other depending on who’s winning the bet.
- If most people are betting that prices will go up, they have to pay a fee to the people betting on a drop.
- If the funding rate is negative, it means the people betting on prices going down (the bears) are paying the bulls.
Right now, the funding rate on Binance is -0.0008%, which means more traders are betting on Bitcoin to fall.
Why That Could Be A Good Sign
This sounds bad at first, but it could actually be good news.
Why? Because when too many people bet that prices will drop, it can lead to something called a “short squeeze.” That’s when the price suddenly starts to rise, and the people who bet against it are forced to buy Bitcoin to stop losing money — which pushes the price even higher.
This has happened before. For example:
- In July 2021, Bitcoin dropped below $30,000 and funding rates turned negative. But then it bounced back and reached $50,000+ just weeks later.
- Similar things happened in late 2022 and early 2023.
So, when funding rates get really low, it often means the price is near the bottom — and a big move up could be coming.
Where Bitcoin Stands Now
As of now, Bitcoin is around $96,950, which is about 2% higher than the day before. If the current trend continues, there’s a good chance it could pass $100,000 this weekend.
