[Bloomberg: Wall Street Institutions Are Exiting Bitcoin 'Cash-and-Carry' Arbitrage Trades] According to Bloomberg, a key arbitrage trade in the cryptocurrency derivatives market is unraveling. Wall Street institutions previously employed the 'cash-and-carry trade' strategy, which involves buying spot Bitcoin and selling futures to capture the price spread. However, due to a massive influx of capital, the spread has narrowed sharply, with the annualized return dropping from about 17% a year ago to approximately 4.7% now, barely covering funding costs. As arbitrage profits shrink, the value of open interest in Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has significantly declined from its peak and has been surpassed by Binance. This primarily reflects the strategic retreat of large U.S. accounts such as hedge funds. The maturing market has provided institutions with more tools to express directional views, which has narrowed spreads across exchanges, naturally compressing arbitrage opportunities. Market participants have noted that the era of near-risk-free high returns may be over, and traders are shifting to more complex strategies in decentralized markets. CME Group stated that institutional investors are diversifying from Bitcoin into other tokens such as Ethereum.