Amberdata Blog

BTC Squeeze Extends While Liquidity Conditions Deteriorate

Written by Michael Marshall | May 11, 2026

April payrolls printed at 115K against a 55-65K consensus, unemployment held at 4.3%, the 10-year sits near 4.44%, and Strait of Hormuz tensions keep oil-led inflation pressure live. Energy and freight pass-through is 4-6 weeks from the data, with shipping, aviation, and manufacturing absorbing input cost pressure. Inside crypto, BTC funding extended to 32 negative sessions, and BTC/ETH correlation recoupled to 0.81x, but the squeeze grinding on is not a regime change.

Percentile rankings: 90-day rolling window. Green = health, red = stress, amber = neutral, monitor closely. Values and changes ranked over 90 days; deeper colour signals proximity to recent highs or lows. Correlations: rolling Pearson on daily log returns of close.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Squeeze persists: BTC funding extended to 32 consecutive negative sessions at -7.4% APR, L/S at 0.91x (11th percentile), the squeeze setup grinding on with violence past.
  • Liquidity asymmetry: BTC spread at 0.9bps marks the 90-day high, bid depth at 46.8% sits in the 1st percentile, sellers in the orderbook against a 100th-percentile spot price.
  • Quantum Risk: A Project Eleven report warned quantum computing now poses risk to up to $3T in digital assets, alongside threats to banking, military communications and digital identity systems.
  • MACRO: April payrolls at 115K against a 55-65K consensus, unemployment 4.3%, 10-year at 4.44%, the hot print killed the rate-cut narrative, Strait of Hormuz keeps oil pressure live.

Executive Summary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Market

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • BTC fresh high: Close at $82,178 sits in the 100th 90-day percentile, ETH at $2,329.54 in the 85th, the move concentrated in BTC while ETH lagged the leg up.
  • Volume thinner: BTC 7-day spot volume at the 0th 90-day percentile and ETH at the 6th, the leg higher continues on near-record-low participation.
  • Recoupling: BTC/ETH 30-day correlation at 0.81x against 0.17x the prior week, a full snap-back that closes the relative-value setups opened by last week’s decoupling.

BTC closes at $82,178 in the 100th 90-day percentile, a fresh high, ETH at $2,329.54 sits at the 85th and continues to lag. Realized vol stays compressed: BTC 7D at 24.6% in the 6th percentile, RV ratio 0.69x. Spot volume at near-record lows, BTC at the 0th percentile and ETH at the 6th. BTC/ETH 30-day correlation snapped back to 0.81x from 0.17x prior week.


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2. Liquidity

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • BTC spread blew out: Spread at 0.9bps prints the 90-day high (100th percentile), execution costs reset to the most expensive level of the window.
  • ETH spread compressed: ETH spread at 0.7bps fell back to the 7th 90-day percentile, divergence from BTC, BTC bears the liquidity tax while ETH stays cheap.
  • BTC bid flipped: BTC bid depth at 46.8% sits in the 1st 90-day percentile, sellers control the orderbook despite a 100th-percentile spot print, an unusual structure.

BTC spread widened to 0.9bps at the 100th 90-day percentile, the most expensive execution of the window. ETH spread fell back to 0.7bps in the 7th percentile; the BTC-ETH spread relationship diverged sharply. BTC bid depth at 46.8% sits in the 1st percentile, sellers control the book against a 100th-percentile spot price. Depth held at $904M for BTC and $1.04B for ETH in 90-day-high zones.

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3. Rates

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • BTC funding deepens: BTC funding at -7.4% APR extended to 32 consecutive negative sessions, the deepest sustained inversion of the 90-day window, shorts paying through the grind-up.
  • SOL flipped negative: SOL funding at -4.6% APR moved from -0.1% prior week, ETH moderated to +1.7%, the cross-cohort funding picture continues to split.
  • Altcoin extremes: BNB funding at +14.0% APR, XRP at +8.8%, DOGE at +6.5% in the 90th percentile, speculation concentrated in the long tail.

BTC funding extends to a 32-session negative streak at -7.4% APR, the deepest sustained inversion of the 90-day window, shorts paying through the grind-up. SOL flipped negative to -4.6% from -0.1% prior, ETH moderated to +1.7%. Altcoin funding ran extreme: BNB at +14.0%, XRP +8.8%, DOGE +6.5%. ETH term spread inverted to -1.0bps in the 12th percentile, an unusual demand-for-spot signal.

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4. Positioning

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • OI fresh highs: BTC OI at $29.76B (91st percentile), ETH at $17.34B (92nd), SOL at $3.45B in the 99th percentile, leverage building rather than unwinding.
  • L/S persistent: BTC L/S at 0.91x in the 11th percentile, the perp tape still net short despite a 100th-percentile spot, SOL L/S dropped to 1.48x (2nd percentile).
  • Liquidations moderate: BTC liquidations $90.28M (down from $180.68M prior week), ETH $94.73M, SOL $27.99M at the 100th percentile, short side still dominant.

Open interest extended to fresh highs: BTC at $29.76B (91st percentile), ETH at $17.34B (92nd), SOL at $3.45B in the 99th percentile, system leverage building. BTC long/short ratio at 0.91x sits in the 11th percentile, perp tape still net short against a 100th-percentile spot price. BTC liquidations of $90.28M moderated from $180.68M prior, ETH $94.73M, SOL $27.99M in the 100th percentile.

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5. Stablecoin

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • USDT expansion moderates: 7-day net mint of $985.5M, mint/burn ratio at 7.84x against 15.20x prior week, the acute expansion phase cooling but still positive.
  • USDC contribution: 7-day net mint of $1.0B, supply rising to $67.9B, USDC adding meaningful capital alongside USDT for the first time in recent weeks.
  • Aggregate expansion: Total stablecoin liquidity expanded around $2.1B on a 7-day basis once USDT, USDC, USDe, USDS and PYUSD are netted.

USDT added $985.5M over the week with mint/burn at 7.84x against 15.20x prior, the acute expansion phase cooling but still positive. USDC minted $1.0B, supply rising to $67.9B, contributing meaningfully alongside USDT for the first time in recent weeks. USDe added $67.9M, USDS minted $38.1M, PYUSD burned $3.1M. Aggregate stablecoin liquidity expanded around $2.1B over the 7-day window, capital still entering at a moderated pace.

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6. DeFi Lending

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Protocol data unavailable: Protocol-level snapshots for TVL, utilization, borrow APR and liquidation data did not feed this week, the protocol layer is dark for the daily reading.
  • LST APY available: ETH base staking APY at 2.9% in the 88th percentile, swETH at 3.2% (91st), sfrxETH at 3.2% (54th), lsETH the outlier at 2.0% (3rd).
  • Dispersion narrow: Cohort APY ranges from 2.0% on lsETH to 3.2% on swETH and sfrxETH, no convergence-to-zero arb compression signal visible from the rates side.

Protocol-level snapshots for TVL, utilization, borrow APR and liquidations did not feed for the 10-05-2026 reading, the daily protocol layer is dark this week. LST APY data is present: ETH base staking at 2.9% in the 88th percentile, swETH at 3.2% (91st), sfrxETH at 3.2% (54th), lsETH the outlier at 2.0% in the 3rd percentile. The cohort dispersion is narrow, no leveraged-staking arb compression signal visible from the rates side.

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