Bitcoin COT Report: Who Holds the Futures

In the week to Tuesday 13 October 2026, leveraged funds (hedge funds and trading firms) held a net short position of 5,844 contracts in CME bitcoin futures (29,220 BTC), up 1,008 from the week before. That is higher than in 99% of weeks over the last three years. Updated every Friday from the CFTC's Commitments of Traders report.

Leveraged funds, net

−5,844

contracts · 29,220 BTC

Change on week

+1,008

5,040 BTC

Share of open interest

-28.2%

20,752 contracts open

vs last 3 years

99th

percentile (100 = most long)

vs all since 2018

40th

percentile

Positions as of

13 Oct 2026

released Fri 16 Oct

Net position by trader group vs the bitcoin price

Net position = long minus short contracts (excluding spreads). One contract is 5 bitcoin. Price: bitcoin close on each report Tuesday. Click a name to show or hide it.

Latest Positions by Group

Contracts held on 13 October 2026, and the change from the week before.

Group	Long	Short	Net	Change	Net in BTC
Leveraged fundshedge funds and trading firms	5,520	11,364	−5,844	+1,008	−29,220
Asset managerspension funds, insurers, funds	5,079	1,437	+3,642	+110	+18,210
Dealersbanks and brokers on the other side of client trades	6,646	4,805	+1,841	−498	+9,205
Other reportablesother large traders	160	0	+160	−355	+800
Small traderspositions below the reporting level	982	781	+201	−265	+1,005

Open interest: 20,752 contracts. Longs and shorts don't add up across groups because spread positions (long and short at once) are left out.

Leveraged funds: Last 12 Weeks

Week to	Bitcoin price	Long	Short	Net	Change
13 Oct 2026	$83,095	5,520	11,364	−5,844	+1,008
6 Oct 2026	$85,558	5,731	12,583	−6,852	+4
29 Sep 2026	$83,622	4,980	11,836	−6,856	+1,097
22 Sep 2026	$86,172	4,745	12,698	−7,953	−1,599
15 Sep 2026	$75,613	5,545	11,899	−6,354	+1,538
8 Sep 2026	$78,439	5,146	13,038	−7,892	−272
1 Sep 2026	$77,404	4,530	12,150	−7,620	+469
25 Aug 2026	$78,565	3,181	11,270	−8,089	−650
18 Aug 2026	$64,681	4,488	11,927	−7,439	−387
11 Aug 2026	$63,552	4,997	12,049	−7,052	+188
4 Aug 2026	$64,056	4,243	11,483	−7,240	−367
28 Jul 2026	$63,871	3,295	10,168	−6,873	+1,076

Bitcoin COT Report: FAQ

What is the COT report?

The Commitments of Traders report is published by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) every Friday at 3:30 pm Eastern time. It shows the futures positions held on the previous Tuesday by each group of traders in markets such as CME bitcoin futures, split into long and short positions.

Who are leveraged funds and asset managers?

Leveraged funds are hedge funds and trading firms; in bitcoin futures they are often net short because many run the "basis trade" — buying spot bitcoin or ETF shares and selling futures to earn the price gap. Asset managers are pension funds, insurers and funds, usually net long. Dealers are the banks and brokers on the other side of client trades.

What is leveraged funds's position in bitcoin now?

Net short 5,844 contracts (29,220 BTC) as of 13 October 2026, or 28.2% of open interest. The largest net long since 2018 was 494 contracts (15 Jan 2019); the lowest was -23,197 (17 Dec 2024).

Does positioning predict the bitcoin price?

Not reliably. When speculators are already very long, there are fewer new buyers left and a sell-off can be sharp, so extreme readings are watched as a contrarian signal — but positions can stay extreme for months. Positioning mostly follows the price, rather than leading it.

When is the next report?

The CFTC publishes every Friday at 3:30 pm ET (Monday or later after US holidays), with positions as of that Tuesday. The latest report on this page was released on Friday 16 October 2026.

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Commitments of Traders (Traders in Financial Futures report, futures only), weekly since Apr 2018. Not investment advice.