Leveraged funds increased their combined net short across four regulated Bitcoin futures markets by 1,668 BTC in the week to Sept. 8, taking the position to 39,876 BTC from 38,208 BTC, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) futures-only data. CME's five-BTC contract accounted for 81.5% of the weekly change. The aggregate covers futures exposure only and does not show whether positions were outright bearish trades, basis hedges against spot or spot ETF holdings, or arbitrage strategies. The short buildup was in place before the Sept. 15–16 FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting, while Bitcoin traded near $77,300 on Sept. 12.