Leverage hasn’t been cleared yet Funding rate is positive, with a 7-day average showing longs paying shorts $79,000 per hour, which is higher compared to June 17. This indicates that in perpetual contracts, longs are consistently the active side, willing to pay a premium to maintain or open new long positions. Compared to February, when the price dropped, funding turned negative, and open interest (OI) declined—all three aligned. Longs were flushed out, resulting in a clean deleveraging. This kind of structure often corresponds to a short-term bottom. Now, the situation is different: price is dropping, funding is positive, and OI is rising instead of falling. All three point to the same behavior—longs are losing money while simultaneously adding positions, with new leverage continuously entering the market. The market is treating $60K as a buying point, showing that the collective judgment is “this is the bottom,” and they’re expressing this view through leverage. The problem is that this combination of high OI, positive funding rate, and weakening price is inherently fragile. These stubborn longs who refuse to give up are likely to become the fuel for forced liquidations later on. Therefore, the signal from the derivatives side is that leverage hasn’t been cleared yet. What we really want to see is another washout similar to February’s. Otherwise, any rebound is likely to be met with selling.