CryptoQuant CEO: BTC/USDT futures leverage ratio falling to pre-ETF levels

Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, said on X that the leverage ratio in the BTC/USDT perpetual futures market is cooling down rapidly. He noted that while excessive long leverage had been sustained for the past two years due to inflows from Strategy and spot ETFs, this trend is now changing. Ju predicted the estimated leverage ratio will fall to its January 2024 level, prior to the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. This follows a statement he made in November 2024, when he pointed out that leverage in the BTC/USDT futures market was 2.7 times higher than at the beginning of that year. At the time, he warned that while it was uncertain how much the price of BTC would rise, the pain from a leverage unwind would be significant.