CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju says Bitcoin spot demand is weakening while futures stay positive

Bitcoin’s spot market is losing steam, but the derivatives side of the house is still humming along. CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju flagged the divergence on July 23, noting that spot demand is weakening while futures demand remains in positive territory. The spot-futures divide According to CryptoQuant’s data, back in April, the analytics platform flagged a similar pattern where spot demand turned negative during rally phases while perpetual futures essentially carried the weight of price action. That dynamic appears to have persisted over the past three months. Futures open interest has recovered to approximately $32 billion. Elevated open interest without corresponding spot buying can create fragile price structures, where liquidation cascades in leveraged positions trigger outsized moves in either direction. What Ju’s framework tells us Ki Young Ju has been consistent in how he reads market cycles. His longstanding view is that genuine recoveries from bear markets require both spot and futures demand to show concurrent recovery. That framework matters right now because Bitcoin has been trading within a range after reaching highs above $87K earlier in this cycle. Ju’s d...