The closely watched Coinbase Bitcoin Premium index briefly appeared to recover after the Feb. 5 drop. It wasn’t.
The premium has been negative for 40 consecutive days, according to Coinglass data, setting the longest streak of sub-zero readings since 2023. The current reading sits at -0.0467%, little changed from two weeks ago, when a sharp decline from -0.22% suggested US buyers had stepped in near the lows.
The index measures the price difference between bitcoin on Coinbase and the global market average. Coinbase is widely used as an indicator of US dollar-denominated and institutional flows, so a persistent negative reading means US investors are consistently paying less than the rest of the world, either by selling more aggressively or simply not showing up.
The previous record was about 30 days of continuous negative premium during the October 2025 drawdown. That streak was broken when a strong rebound brought U.S. buyers back into the market. This time, the rebound came as bitcoin rallied as much as 15% from its intraday low on February 5. But the bonus never arrived.
That divergence shows that while the price recovered, the composition of demand did not. Any purchases that took bitcoin back above $62,000 came from outside US business hours, outside Coinbase order books, or both.
The only constructive reading is that the premium has been gradually less negative since the beginning of February, moving from -0.22% to -0.05%. It is improving, but not fast enough to turn positive, a threshold that historically coincides with phases of sustained accumulation rather than relief rallies.
Interestingly, Google searches for “bitcoin zero” in the US reached record levels earlier this month, as CoinDesk reported, even as global search interest in the term remained stable.
Both signs point to U.S. investors specifically losing conviction at a rate not seen elsewhere.
