As the bitcoin price rises, futures may look bearish, but they're not, analyst says

Bitcoin has rallied roughly 14% this month to about $78k, yet perpetual futures funding rates remain negative. 10x Research says the disconnect reflects structural institutional hedging rather than a broad bearish consensus: hedge funds short futures during redemptions, institutional trades pair long MicroStrategy exposure with short futures, and some miners are hedging crypto correlation as they pivot to AI. The firm notes a 30-day average funding rate of -5% versus a historical norm of +8% (a 13 percentage-point gap). Market implication: negative funding is not necessarily bearish for spot BTC — it signals positioning and risk management by sophisticated players and can coexist with continued spot strength and potential moves toward $80,000+.