Institutional Bitcoin longs at record-high, hedge funds short

According to CME, the amount of Bitcoin long contracts held by institutions are at an all-time high.

CME's most recent Commitment of Trader report shows hedge funds are at a record-high for BTC shorts.

There seemingly is a major difference in the perception of Bitcoin's short to medium-term trend between hedge funds and institutions.

Why are hedge funds aggressively shorting Bitcoin but not institutions?

In contrast, institutional investors who are allocating a percentage of their portfolio to Bitcoin likely have a long-term strategy.

This means they are not concerned about the short to medium-term performance of BTC. Some analysts say that hedge funds are likely short on Bitcoin to provide liquidity to institutions longing the top cryptocurrency.

Technically, hedge funds might also be shorting Bitcoin after repeated rejections of a key resistance level.

Whether hedge funds are net short on BTC or providing liquidity to buyers on CME remains unclear based on open interest.

Despite the growing Bitcoin short positions from hedge funds, institutional investors are continuing to accumulate BTC. On Oct. 17, Barry Silbert, the CEO of Grayscale, said the firm reached all-time high assets under management at $6.4 billion.

Institutions rely on the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which operates more like an exchange-traded product to gain exposure to Bitcoin.