The open interest (OI) of Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has fallen to $8.41 billion, hitting the lowest level in 14 months. Glassnode analysts pointed out that this trend is mainly driven by the unwinding of basis trading, which previously involved establishing long positions through spot ETFs and hedging futures shorts to profit from the spread, but recently the annualized return has dropped from 15%-20% to around 5%, leading institutions to take profits. Additionally, the daily trading volume of CME Bitcoin futures has shrunk below $3 billion. Analysts believe that as institutional demand shifts toward directly holding spot assets, leverage levels in the futures market are significantly decreasing. (TheBlock)