Odaily Planet Daily News Coinbase Research Director David Duong wrote that recent claims about the "largest short position in ETH in history" are seriously exaggerated.
He pointed out that the net inflow of Ethereum spot ETFs reached $1.16 billion in June, while the leveraged fund short positions on Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Ethereum futures increased from $466 million in early May to $1.6 billion on June 24, an increase that was basically consistent with ETF fund inflows.
Duong explained that the phenomenon was mainly driven by basis trading. As the basis yield provided by CME Ethereum futures compared to spot has increased from an average of 6% in February to 8%-9% in May and June, it has attracted more institutions to participate in arbitrage by buying spot and selling futures, which does not mean pessimistic expectations for ETH.