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Bitcoin COT Report: CME Bitcoin Futures Positioning

Weekly positioning in CME Bitcoin futures (5 BTC per contract) by trader type, from the CFTC's Commitments of Traders report. Net = long minus short contracts; positions are as of Tuesday and published on Friday.

In the week to Tuesday 22 September 2026, leveraged funds were net short 7,953 CME Bitcoin futures contracts (≈ 39,765 BTC), against net short 6,354 a week earlier. Asset managers were net long 3,171 (≈ 15,855 BTC) and dealers net long 3,647. Open interest was 22,315 contracts (≈ 111,575 BTC), up 1,542 on the week.

Positions as of 22 Sep 2026Source: CFTC Traders in Financial FuturesUpdated weekly (Fridays)

Leveraged fundsnet
-7,953 contracts
net short ≈ 39,765 BTCweek -1,599
Asset managersnet
+3,171 contracts
net long ≈ 15,855 BTCweek +411
Dealersnet
+3,647 contracts
net long ≈ 18,235 BTCweek +228
Open interest
22,315 contracts
≈ 111,575 BTCweek +1,542

Net positions by trader type

Apr 2018 – Sep 2026 · contracts, weekly
  • Leveraged funds
  • Asset managers
  • Dealers
Weekly net long (above zero) or net short (below zero) positions in CME Bitcoin futures for leveraged funds, asset managers and dealers. -30,000 -20,000 -10,000 0 +10,000 +20,000 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Positioning in the week to 22 Sep 2026

CME Bitcoin futures · 5 BTC per contract
Trader type Long Short Net Net change % of OI long / short Net ≈ BTC
Leveraged funds
hedge funds, CTAs and other money managers
4,745 12,698 -7,953 -1,599 21.3% / 56.9% net short 39,765 BTC
Asset managers
pension funds, endowments, insurers and institutional fund managers
4,962 1,791 +3,171 +411 22.2% / 8.0% net long 15,855 BTC
Dealers
banks and other sell-side intermediaries
7,135 3,488 +3,647 +228 32.0% / 15.6% net long 18,235 BTC
Other reportables
large traders that fit none of the groups above
881 99 +782 +796 3.9% / 0.4% net long 3,910 BTC
Small traders
positions below the CFTC's reporting level
1,284 931 +353 +164 5.8% / 4.2% net long 1,765 BTC

Open interest 22,315 contracts (≈ 111,575 BTC); 119 traders held positions above the CFTC reporting level. Every open contract has one long and one short, so the net positions of all five groups add up to zero.

Weekly history

last 26 reports · net contracts and change on the week
Report date Open interest OI change Leveraged funds Change Asset managers Change Dealers Change
22,315 +1,542 -7,953 -1,599 +3,171 +411 +3,647 +228
20,773 -310 -6,354 +1,538 +2,760 -983 +3,419 +476
21,083 +1,386 -7,892 -272 +3,743 +45 +2,943 +159
19,697 -2,519 -7,620 +469 +3,698 +753 +2,784 -795
22,216 +456 -8,089 -650 +2,945 +213 +3,579 +608
21,760 +575 -7,439 -387 +2,732 +498 +2,971 -108
21,185 +1,042 -7,052 +188 +2,234 -308 +3,079 +110
20,143 +124 -7,240 -367 +2,542 +243 +2,969 -1,111
20,019 -508 -6,873 +1,076 +2,299 -428 +4,080 -543
20,527 +1,142 -7,949 -458 +2,727 -88 +4,623 +7
19,385 +553 -7,491 -774 +2,815 +430 +4,616 -163
18,832 +496 -6,717 -1,404 +2,385 +385 +4,779 +254
18,336 -2,218 -5,313 +817 +2,000 -585 +4,525 +494
20,554 -571 -6,130 +477 +2,585 +78 +4,031 +21
21,125 +1,349 -6,607 -612 +2,507 -381 +4,010 +321
19,776 -106 -5,995 +563 +2,888 -215 +3,689 +218
19,882 -1,743 -6,558 +2,076 +3,103 -1,249 +3,471 -611
21,625 -1,375 -8,634 +327 +4,352 -469 +4,082 +21
23,000 -535 -8,961 +2,109 +4,821 -979 +4,061 +180
23,535 +133 -11,070 +668 +5,800 -387 +3,881 -588
23,402 +1,710 -11,738 -1,378 +6,187 +762 +4,469 -92
21,692 -3,302 -10,360 +362 +5,425 +67 +4,561 0
24,994 +1,233 -10,722 -483 +5,358 +97 +4,561 +367
23,761 +1,453 -10,239 -1,812 +5,261 +688 +4,194 +468
22,308 +1,677 -8,427 -375 +4,573 -231 +3,726 -140
20,631 -2,637 -8,052 +299 +4,804 -264 +3,866 +57

How to read it. Net = long minus short contracts; positive is net long, negative net short. Leveraged funds on CME are often short futures against long spot or ETF holdings (the basis trade), so their net short tracks the futures premium as much as a view on price. Dates are the Tuesday the positions were taken; the CFTC publishes them the following Friday. Numbers cover the standard CME Bitcoin futures contract only (not CME Micro contracts). Source: CFTC Commitments of Traders, Traders in Financial Futures, futures only. Public domain.

Bitcoin COT report FAQ

What is the COT report?

The Commitments of Traders (COT) report is published every week by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It breaks down the open interest of each US futures market by type of trader. For financial futures such as CME Bitcoin and Ether futures, the Traders in Financial Futures (TFF) version splits large traders into dealers, asset managers, leveraged funds and other reportables; everyone below the reporting level is counted as non-reportable.

When is the COT report released?

Every Friday at 3:30 pm US Eastern time, with positions as of the Tuesday of that week. After US federal holidays it comes out a day or more later. This page checks for the new report shortly after each release.

Who are leveraged funds and asset managers?

Leveraged funds are hedge funds, commodity trading advisors (CTAs) and other money managers. In crypto futures many of them run the basis trade: long spot bitcoin or ETF shares and short CME futures to earn the premium, so a large net short is not simply a bearish bet. Asset managers are pension funds, endowments, insurers and institutional fund managers, usually net long. Dealers are banks and other intermediaries.

Does this include Binance or other crypto exchanges?

No. The CFTC only reports US-regulated futures. This page covers the standard CME Bitcoin futures contract (5 BTC for Bitcoin, 50 ETH for Ether); CME Micro contracts are reported separately and are not included. Offshore perpetual futures are on the open interest and long/short ratio pages.

Where does the data come from, and can I reuse it?

From the CFTC's own public reporting API (Traders in Financial Futures, futures only). CFTC reports are works of the US government and are in the public domain, so you can cite and reuse the numbers on this page freely. Nothing here is financial advice.