Bitcoin fell 1.3% while Nasdaq-100 lost 5.5% in last week’s tech selloff
Bitcoin lost less than the Nasdaq-100 in last week's tech selloff. Hedge funds cut technology positions at the fastest pace since at least 2016 over the five trading sessions through Oct. 15, according to a report citing Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data. The Nasdaq-100 fell 5.49% from its Oct. 9 close of 30,883.15 to 29,187.55… Read the full story on CryptoSlateUnderstand the crypto stories that matter and what to watch next. Get The Catalyst in your inbox
Bitcoin lost less than the Nasdaq-100 in last week's tech selloff. Hedge funds cut technology positions at the fastest pace since at least 2016 over the five trading sessions through Oct. 15, according to a report citing Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data.
The Nasdaq-100 fell 5.49% from its Oct. 9 close of 30,883.15 to 29,187.55 on Oct. 16. Bitcoin fell about 1.27% over the same dates on UTC daily closes, from $82,546.32 to $81,500.80.
Goldman's note shows global equities net sold at a pace two standard deviations beyond the prior year's flow distribution.
Semiconductors took the largest dollar selling, and technology posted its largest reduction in gross positions in two months. Technology accounts for 23.5% of net allocation in Goldman's global prime brokerage book, in the 90th percentile of the past five years, and hedge fund net leverage fell to a one-year low of 48.6%.
The Bitcoin comparison is preliminary because a UTC close sits four hours from the Nasdaq's 4 p.m. ET close in October. The difference between these returns is about 4.22 percentage points.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs took in a net $1.72 billion from Sept. 21 through Oct. 16, according to Farside Investors data.
The last two weeks gave back part of that, with net outflows of $678.9 million in the week to Oct. 9 and $228.4 million from Oct. 12 to Oct. 16. Together they equal about 35% of the $2.63 billion that arrived between Sept. 21 and Oct. 2.
Bitcoin's relative strength came in a week of net redemptions, inside a four-week net inflow. The flow picture improved on Oct. 19: US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted a net $526.7 million, led by $665.2 million into IBIT.
CFTC data shows leveraged funds cutting net short exposure in Bitcoin futures by 1,008 contracts, 14.71%, in the week to Oct. 13. Gross shorts fell by 1,219 contracts and gross longs fell by 211, which describes position reduction through closing shorts.
Net shorts remained at 5,844 contracts, equal to 29,220 BTC, and CME open interest fell 3.17%. The Oct. 13 snapshot predates the Oct. 14 to Oct. 16 equity selloff, and short covering as a cause of Bitcoin's relative strength remains a hypothesis.