A regional divergence is taking shape in Bitcoin markets, as U.S. institutions maintain bullish positioning while offshore traders scale back risk.

The contrast is clearest in the futures arena. On CME Group — the primary venue for U.S. hedge funds and institutional desks — traders are still willing to pay a premium to remain long, according to Greg Cipolaro, head of research at NYDIG. Measured on a one-month annualized basis, the futures premium on CME remains higher than on offshore exchange Deribit, where basis levels have fallen more sharply.

Cipolaro said the steeper compression in offshore basis points to a pullback in leveraged long appetite outside the U.S., with the CME-Deribit spread offering a real-time snapshot of geographic risk sentiment.

Bitcoin slid to roughly $60,000 earlier this month before rebounding. Some observers attributed the sell-off to renewed worries that advances in quantum computing could threaten bitcoin’s cryptographic security. However, NYDIG’s analysis suggests the data does not support that narrative.

Price movements in bitcoin have closely mirrored shares of publicly traded quantum-computing firms such as IonQ (IONQ) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS). If quantum fears were the main driver, those stocks would likely have risen as bitcoin declined. Instead, they moved lower alongside BTC, indicating a broader retreat from speculative, long-duration assets.

Google Trends data adds further context, showing that searches for “quantum computing bitcoin” typically rise during price rallies rather than downturns — suggesting the narrative tends to gain traction in bullish environments, not as a catalyst for market weakness.