Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a key indicator of institutional interest in the cryptocurrency, saw a sharp decline on Monday, reflecting a bearish sentiment following US President Donald Trump’s comments ruling out a trade deal with China.
The futures contract for April, set to expire on the last Friday of the month, opened at $79,590, down 5.6% from Friday’s close of $84,250. The price quickly fell further, reaching $76,800, according to CoinDesk data.
The sell-off in Bitcoin futures came as broader financial markets faced significant turbulence. Dow futures dropped by 900 points, Chinese stocks plummeted, and Japan’s equity market hit lower circuit breakers. These declines followed an increased probability of the US slipping into recession, as predicted by JPMorgan, S&P Global, and Goldman Sachs.
On Sunday, President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was unwilling to negotiate a trade deal with China unless the country addressed the trade deficit. Trump’s comments were further compounded by his announcement last week of sweeping tariffs on 180 nations, raising the total tariff on China to 54%. Since then, financial markets have been under pressure, a development the President believes is necessary to address the trade imbalance. “I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump remarked.
The downturn in Bitcoin futures is also reflected in the CME’s open interest, which peaked at 281,570 BTC in December but has since fallen to 140,500 BTC, the lowest level since August 2024, according to data from Coinglass. This decrease in open interest suggests a withdrawal of capital from the cryptocurrency market, possibly in anticipation of further price declines.
In contrast, global futures and perpetual futures open interest, excluding CME, has risen from approximately 400,000 BTC to 520,000 BTC over the past month. This increase, paired with a price drop, suggests that traders are increasingly building short positions in the market, reinforcing the bearish outlook.
