BTC returns to $97,000, funding rate reverses to bearish — topping out and shorting resumes

NullWhisperer · 2026-01-15T02:52:12+00:00

The crypto market has returned to a neutral zone after an adjustment. After BTC surged back to $97,000, the funding rate turned bearish, indicating spreading bearish sentiment. Market enthusiasm for long positions has cooled, while short positions have increased. Short-term risk release or adjustments may be underway, and traders should pay attention to this signal.

NullWhisperer

2026-01-15 02:52:12

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【Blockchain Rhythm】After recent adjustments, the crypto market has fully returned to a neutral zone as of yesterday. However, with Bitcoin re-approaching the key resistance level of $97,000, market sentiment has quietly shifted.

According to the latest data from Coinglass, funding rates on mainstream CEX and DEX platforms are beginning to turn, with BTC funding rates on several platforms shifting from bullish to bearish. What does this mean? The market is re-enacting the old play of “top-fishing and shorting.” Not only Bitcoin, but negative funding rates on altcoins are also reappearing, indicating that bearish sentiment is gradually spreading.

It is necessary to understand the logic behind funding rates. This is a mechanism designed by perpetual contract platforms to keep contract prices aligned with spot prices—long and short traders exchange funds directly, and the platform itself does not participate in profit sharing. By fluctuating the positive and negative funding rates, the platform adjusts traders’ holding costs, ultimately pulling the contract price closer to the underlying asset.

How to interpret this funding rate? 0.01% is the baseline. Exceeding this level indicates a generally bullish market, while falling below 0.005% suggests market sentiment leaning bearish. The current distribution of funding rates across major cryptocurrencies clearly reflects this shift—long positions are cooling off, and short-sellers are beginning to raise their voices.

This signal is worth noting for traders: when the market shows such concentrated short funding rate adjustments at high levels, it usually indicates that short-term risk release or correction may be imminent.

BTC1,84%

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LiquidityHunter

· 10h ago

97k is starting to fluctuate again. The tactic of switching to short at the fee rate has been seen too many times... Late at night, looking at Coinglass data, the gap between CEX and DEX prices suddenly widened to 15 basis points. That's the real signal.

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AirdropHunter007

· 10h ago

97,000 still want to short? I feel like it's always the same pattern—by the time the fee rate shifts, it's already too late.

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FalseProfitProphet

· 10h ago

97,000 has hit the top again. This time, the bears really dare to act. I bet this is another false breakout. --- The rate reversal thing... smart people are already running, retail investors are still sleepwalking. --- Laughing out loud, they’re starting the "top-touching short" show again, always the same trick to cut the leeks. --- Shitcoins with negative fees are out, indicating that big players are already laying out to dump. --- 97k is like this? I thought it could break through, but it seems the main force hasn't really exerted effort. --- The funding rate shift is so obvious, does anyone still dare to chase longs? --- The perpetual contract mechanism, to put it simply, is a tool for the market makers to harvest profits. Retail investors playing perpetuals are always the ones getting cut. --- The bearish sentiment is spreading, but I think this time it might turn around... too many people are bearish, which could be a bottom signal. --- The old routine of touching the top to short again, will this be another fake fall? Let’s wait and see.

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FUD_Whisperer

· 10h ago

97000 is really a curse level. Every time it approaches, the sentiment changes, and the fee rate flips. The bears are starting to act up again, just waiting to short at this level. Funding rates are basically a gamble; longs pay shorts. Now that it's reversed, it shows that smart money is starting to position. Altcoins are following the trend and turning short. This is going to be interesting, another round of washing out. Trying to short at the top is an old trick. I wonder how many people will be cut again before they are satisfied.

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RugPullAlertBot

· 10h ago

What the hell is 97k position? Sometimes it hits the top, sometimes it breaks below. Rate reversal has become the norm.

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PhantomHunter

· 10h ago

97,000 is here again, is this time really going to break? The old trick of topping out and shorting, doing it every time. When the rate turns bearish, I knew it was another round of harvesting the retail investors. Looking bearish is one thing, but rebounds still happen; the funding rate is just a reflection of market sentiment. Is the bearish trend spreading? No worries, this is actually a signal to bottom fish. Here we go again, every time 97,000 becomes a watershed, but the question is whether it goes up or down. Shanzhai coins with negative funding rates are appearing, indicating that smart money is starting to lurk here again. Contract traders are about to be washed out again; isn’t the funding rate just a way to harvest emotions?

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