The Coinbase premium — the spread between Coinbase’s BTC/USD pair (Advanced Trade) and Binance’s BTC/USDT pair — has fallen to its lowest point in more than a year, signaling weaker demand on Coinbase-linked venues that are often used by institutional traders. CryptoQuant’s analyst Darkfost said the negative premium shows Bitcoin quoted on Coinbase’s professional platform is trading below Binance, a venue with a larger retail base. He added that selling pressure appears to be intensifying on the institutional side as larger accounts push prices down and widen the negative gap.
CryptoQuant reports the Coinbase premium at -167.8, its lowest reading since December 2024. The firm notes a declining premium tends to reflect whales selling at lower spreads and diminishing investor activity on Coinbase. The gap has trended lower since a market downturn in mid-October and moved more sharply over the past week. Analysts describe the current backdrop as highly challenging and uncertain, which is dampening risk appetite and large BTC allocations.
On-chain data from CryptoQuant also points to a material reversal in institutional demand. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which were net buyers of roughly 46,000 BTC around this time last year, have become net sellers in 2026, unloading about 10,600 BTC so far. That swing represents roughly a 56,000 BTC demand shortfall compared with 2025 and is contributing to ongoing downward pressure.
Over the past week, spot BTC ETFs recorded approximately $1.2 billion in outflows, and Bitcoin dipped to a 15-month low beneath $71,000. This report was prepared in line with Cointelegraph’s editorial standards; readers are encouraged to verify the data independently.