Leveraged funds rebuilt their short in CME Bitcoin futures in the week to Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Their net short grew 1,599 contracts to 7,953, the biggest one-week increase since April 14, according to the CFTC's weekly Commitments of Traders report. Open interest rose 1,542 to 22,315, the highest since May 19. In the same Bitcoin COT report, asset managers added 411 contracts to their net long, which reached 3,171.
From the data
CFTC Commitments of Traders
Longs Out, Shorts In
The week split almost evenly. Leveraged funds dropped 800 longs, to 4,745, and added 799 shorts, to 12,698. That more than undid September 15, when they'd added 399 longs and closed 1,139 shorts to cut the net short by 1,538 contracts.
At 7,953 contracts, or about 39,765 BTC at 5 bitcoin a contract, the net short is the deepest since August 25 (8,089). It's the second deepest since the start of June, just past the 7,949 of July 21. It's still well shy of the spring: on May 5 leveraged funds were net short 11,738 contracts.
Open Interest at a Four-Month High
Open interest reached 22,315 contracts, the most since May 19 (23,000). The new positions went both ways. Leveraged funds added shorts, and asset managers added longs.
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 |
| 2026-09-22 | 22,315 | 4,745 | 12,698 | -7,953 | +3,171 |
CME Bitcoin futures, in contracts of 5 BTC. Net is long minus short. Source: CFTC Traders in Financial Futures.
The Summer's Deepest Short
The summer's deepest net short came on August 25: 11,270 shorts against 3,181 longs, about 3.5 short contracts for every long. Those 3,181 longs were the fewest since April 21. On September 22 the ratio was 2.7 to 1.
Asset Managers Add Again
Asset managers' net long rose 411 contracts to 3,171, recovering part of the 983 they cut the week before. It's below the 3,743 of September 8. They've been net long in every weekly report this year, and leveraged funds have been net short in every one.
Ether Shorts at the Deepest Since May
In CME's cash-settled Ether futures, leveraged funds went further. Their net short grew 2,895 contracts to 10,617, the deepest since May 5. Open interest rose to 29,985, the highest since May 26. It's a separate contract with its own traders, so neither position explains the other.
| As of | Open interest | Leveraged net |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-04 | 20,431 | -3,205 |
| 2026-08-11 | 21,970 | -3,998 |
| 2026-08-18 | 22,684 | -4,395 |
| 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 |
| 2026-09-22 | 29,985 | -10,617 |
CME Ether cash-settled futures, in contracts. Source: CFTC Traders in Financial Futures.
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.
