Traders used to joke that they are half long and half short on bitcoin at the same time, but jokes are usually funny because they tend to be half-truths and while it may seem nonsensical, a half-long half-short strategy can apparently be very profitable.
Tom Lee, a research analyst at Fundstrat Global, says in a note that traders could buy bitcoin, so increasing the price, short CBOE futures, then sell the bitcoin when futures nears expiration time, so lowering the price and thus earning them a “handsome profit” in the futures short position.