VanEck analysts Matthew Sigel and Patrick Bush wrote an analysis stating that Bitcoin has shown two historically bullish signals: negative funding rates and a decline in hash rate concentration, while volatility has cooled down.
As tensions between the U.S. and Iran eased, Bitcoin’s realized volatility dropped from 56% to 41%, while the 7-day average funding rate turned negative to -1.8%, marking the lowest level since 2023.
Historically, negative funding rates typically indicate strong future returns: since 2020, the average 30-day return for Bitcoin during periods of negative funding rates has been +11.5%, compared to an overall return of +4.5%, with a hit rate as high as 77%. Funding rates below -5% have brought a +19.4% return over a 30-day period.
Additionally, hash rate has fallen to the 16th percentile in the past 30 days, marking the most concentrated decline since the mining ban in 2021. In the last 7 instances of hash rate decline, Bitcoin’s price increased 6 times after 90 days, with a median increase of +37.7%.