Leveraged funds cut their net short in CME Bitcoin futures by 1,538 contracts in the week to Tuesday, September 15, 2026, the CFTC's weekly Commitments of Traders report shows. That left them net short 6,354, the smallest since the end of June, after the biggest one-week cut since June 2. In the same Bitcoin COT report, open interest slipped 310 contracts to 20,773 and asset managers trimmed their net long to 2,760.
From the data
CFTC Commitments of Traders
Shorts Came Off
Most of the move came from the short side. Leveraged funds closed 1,139 short contracts, taking the total to 11,899, the biggest weekly drop in shorts since July 28. They also added 399 longs, reaching 5,545, the most longs they've held since June 16.
The week before had gone the other way. On September 8 their net short grew 272 contracts, to 7,892. So this was a turn, and a sharp one.
Further From the August Extreme
Leveraged funds were net short 8,089 contracts on August 25, the most since late May. Three weeks later they're 1,735 contracts less short. They're still short, though, as they've been in every weekly report this year. In January the figure topped 12,000.
The Bitcoin COT Since July
| As of | Open interest | Leveraged long | Leveraged short | Leveraged net | Asset manager net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-07 | 18,832 | 4,406 | 11,123 | -6,717 | +2,385 |
| 2026-07-14 | 19,385 | 4,015 | 11,506 | -7,491 | +2,815 |
| 2026-07-21 | 20,527 | 4,042 | 11,991 | -7,949 | +2,727 |
| 2026-07-28 | 20,019 | 3,295 | 10,168 | -6,873 | +2,299 |
| 2026-08-04 | 20,143 | 4,243 | 11,483 | -7,240 | +2,542 |
| 2026-08-11 | 21,185 | 4,997 | 12,049 | -7,052 | +2,234 |
| 2026-08-18 | 21,760 | 4,488 | 11,927 | -7,439 | +2,732 |
| 2026-08-25 | 22,216 | 3,181 | 11,270 | -8,089 | +2,945 |
| 2026-09-01 | 19,697 | 4,530 | 12,150 | -7,620 | +3,698 |
| 2026-09-08 | 21,083 | 5,146 | 13,038 | -7,892 | +3,743 |
| 2026-09-15 | 20,773 | 5,545 | 11,899 | -6,354 | +2,760 |
CME Bitcoin futures, in contracts of 5 BTC. Net is long minus short. Source: CFTC Traders in Financial Futures.
Asset Managers Pulled Back Too
Asset managers cut their net long by 983 contracts to 2,760, with 422 fewer longs and 561 more shorts. It's their biggest weekly cut since June 2. That puts them back at August levels after two weeks above 3,600. They're still net long, as they've been all year.
Open interest fell 310 contracts, or 1.5%, so more contracts were closed than opened.
Ether Went the Other Way
In CME's cash-settled Ether futures, leveraged funds added to their short. Their net short grew 436 contracts to 7,722, and open interest rose 1,849 to 28,413. It's a separate contract with its own traders, so the Bitcoin move doesn't explain it.
| As of | Open interest | Leveraged net |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-25 | 26,868 | -8,385 |
| 2026-09-01 | 24,619 | -5,325 |
| 2026-09-08 | 26,564 | -7,286 |
| 2026-09-15 | 28,413 | -7,722 |
CME Ether cash-settled futures, in contracts. Source: CFTC Traders in Financial Futures.
The Week After
The cut didn't last. In the September 22 report, leveraged funds took the Bitcoin net short back up by 1,599 contracts, to 7,953.
Every weekly figure is on the Bitcoin COT page, next to the other futures markets on COT Positioning. The same series is in the free COT API.
Primary Sources & Disclosures
This article was written with AI tools. It's information, not investment, legal or tax advice. Editorial policy
Written by
XOOMAR
Data desk
XOOMAR publishes free market data from primary sources, with an open API. When something we publish is wrong, it's corrected in place.
