The closely watched Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index briefly looked like it was recovering after crashing on February 5. This is not the case.
The premium has now been negative for 40 days in a row, marking the longest streak of sub-zero readings since 2023, according to data from Coinglass. The current reading of -0.0467% is little changed from two weeks ago, when the reading narrowed sharply from -0.22%, indicating that U.S. buyers have entered the market near the lows.
The index measures the gap between Bitcoin on Coinbase and the average global market price. Coinbase is widely used as an indicator of U.S. institutional and dollar-denominated fund flows, so persistent negative readings mean U.S. investors are consistently paying less than the rest of the world — either selling more aggressively or simply not showing up.
The previous record was approximately 30 consecutive days of negative premium during the October 2025 retracement. That momentum was broken when U.S. buyers rebounded sharply and returned to the market. This time, the rebound came, with Bitcoin rebounding 15% from the February 5 intraday low. But the premium never followed.
This discrepancy suggests that while prices have recovered, the composition of demand has not. Any buying that pushes Bitcoin back above $62,000 comes from outside U.S. trading hours, outside the Coinbase order book, or both.
A constructive interpretation is that the premium has gradually become less negative since early February, recovering from -0.22% to -0.05%. It is improving, just not fast enough to turn positive, a threshold historically consistent with a continued accumulation phase rather than an easing rebound.
Interestingly, earlier this month, Google searches for “Bitcoin Zero” hit an all-time high in the United States, although global search interest in the term remained flat, CoinDesk reported.
Both signals suggest that U.S. investors are losing confidence at a rate not seen elsewhere.