Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Stays Positive for 14 Days as US Demand Signals Strength

Bitcoin’s ‘Coinbase premium’ has stayed positive for 14 consecutive days, a stretch that analysts say points to persistent U.S. buying pressure and improving risk appetite across crypto markets. The signal comes as BTC has held above the mid-$70,000 range and short sellers have borne the brunt of recent volatility.

CoinDesk, cited by PANews on Tuesday UTC, reported that the premium—typically measured as the price difference between Bitcoin (BTC) on Coinbase and Binance—remains in positive territory. Because Coinbase is widely viewed as the preferred venue for U.S. institutions, a positive reading is often interpreted as evidence of net spot demand from ‘U.S. capital’ including corporate treasuries, hedge funds, and spot Bitcoin ETF-related flows.

The shift is notable against the backdrop of the prior trend. From mid-December through late February, the premium index was negative for much of the period, coinciding with Bitcoin’s drawdown from around $100,000 to the $60,000s, according to the same report. Bitcoin is currently trading above $78,000 and is up roughly 14% so far in April, reinforcing the view that the market has rotated back toward ‘buy-the-dip’ behavior led by U.S. participants.

Derivatives data underscores how the rebound is pressuring bearish positioning. Across the broader crypto futures market, liquidations totaled about $199 million over the past 24 hours, with short liquidations at roughly $133 million exceeding long liquidations of about $66.6 million. PANews, citing CoinAnk data, said Tuesday UTC that Bitcoin (BTC) liquidations reached approximately $87.6 million, while Ethereum (ETH) accounted for about $36.6 million.

Short-term volatility also spiked in shorter windows. Odaily, citing CoinGlass, reported that roughly $60.8 million in positions were liquidated in the past hour, overwhelmingly from shorts at about $59.4 million versus roughly $0.7 million in longs. By asset, BTC and ETH dominated the forced unwinds at about $27.5 million and $26.3 million, respectively—an imbalance that suggests a sudden upward move caught leveraged sellers off guard.

Macro and geopolitical anxieties remain in the background, particularly around the Middle East, where shipping and energy routes have become a focal point for global risk sentiment. Odaily reported that President Trump reshared a late-night post asserting he had been preparing for war with Iran for more than 40 years, along with a reshared interview clip claiming the U.S. had already “completely won” the conflict. While the posts did not amount to an official policy announcement, they were interpreted by observers as reinforcing a hardline posture toward Iran.

Separately, Odaily cited comments from a Houthi leader on Monday ET saying the group would not remain neutral regarding what he described as U.S. and Israeli aggression toward Iran, warning that they would join fighting if hostilities intensify again. In global trade, container shipping giant Maersk reportedly cautioned that uncertainty remains elevated and that cargo should avoid transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil and logistics flows. Heightened tension in the corridor can quickly translate into higher energy prices and heavier pressure on ‘risk assets’.

Regulatory and industry developments added to the day’s flow of crypto headlines. In South Korea, Odaily reported that the Democratic Party plans to advance stablecoin-related legislation after June elections, with lawmaker Kim Hyun-jung saying the party intends to submit a second-stage bill under a broader Digital Asset Basic Act framework. Kim said some issues—such as limits on exchange major shareholders’ stakes—still require negotiation, but suggested prospects for passage could be improved given Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong’s relatively constructive stance on stablecoins. The party is also considering talks with the central bank on CBDC design and a won-pegged stablecoin framework after the elections.

In the U.S. derivatives arena, Kalshi said it plans to launch crypto perpetual futures, according to Odaily, though supported assets, timing, and product terms have not been disclosed. The move would broaden competition in a market dominated by offshore venues and a handful of large global exchanges, as demand for ‘24/7 leverage’ products remains strong despite recurring liquidation events.

On the infrastructure side, Coinbase-backed Base said it will ship its first independent network upgrade, ‘Base Azul,’ to mainnet on May 13. PANews reported Tuesday UTC that the upgrade, currently running on testnet, focuses on security, performance, and developer tooling. Planned changes include activating a multiproof system combining TEE and zk-proofs, integration upgrades involving base-reth-node and base-consensus, reducing empty blocks, and supporting burst throughput up to 5,000 transactions per second. Base said the roadmap targets further decentralization progress and aims to enable withdrawals within a day, while maintaining compatibility with Ethereum’s Osaka execution-layer specifications. The team is also running an Immunefi audit competition with prize incentives of up to $250,000, and has additional performance and user-experience upgrades slated for later in the year.

In legal news, Tron founder Justin Sun said he filed a lawsuit in a California federal court against World Liberty Financial, according to Odaily. Sun said he took the step to protect his rights as a WLFI token holder, alleging that members of the project team improperly froze all of his tokens, stripped his governance voting rights, and threatened to burn the assets permanently. Sun added that the lawsuit is unrelated to any change in his stance toward President Trump or the Trump administration, while arguing that the project’s conduct does not align with the values he associates with Trump’s pro-crypto posture. He said he sought an amicable resolution before filing, including requests to unfreeze tokens and restore holder rights, but claimed the project rejected those demands.

Taken together, the sustained ‘Coinbase premium’ and the skew toward short liquidations suggest momentum has tilted back in favor of buyers, particularly in the U.S. market. However, with geopolitics, policy debates, and leverage-driven volatility still prominent, traders are likely to remain sensitive to sudden shifts in liquidity and headline risk.