Been tracking Ethena's transparency dashboard to gauge leverage and perps positioning during this bear cycle.
The crypto basis trade (long spot, short perps) just hit 0.9% of their total deployment - lowest since Ethena launched in 2024.
This is a key signal. When basis trades collapse, it means:
• Funding rates are compressed or negative
• Perp shorts are overcrowded
• Spot premium is dead
Translation: leverage is getting flushed out. Market is cleansing. Usually a precursor to bottoming or a shift in structure.
Keep an eye on $USDe yield - if basis stays this low, yields will compress hard. But also means less systemic risk from unwinding trades.
Bear market doing what it does best - killing the arb plays and forcing real conviction.