Bitcoin is on a bull run again, but ether has hit a new all-time high and traders are seeing there is room for growth.
- Bitcoin (BTC) starts trading at around $ 37,092 as of 9:00 PM UTC (4:00 PM ET). 3.4% increase in the last 24 hours.
- Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $ 35,416 to $ 37,245 (CoinDesk 20)
- BTC above the 10-hour and 50-hour moving averages on the hourly chart, a bullish signal for market technicians.
Bitcoin trading on Bitstamp since January 31st.
Source: TradingView
Bitcoin was priced on the second day of a bull run, with the world’s oldest cryptocurrency going up to $ 37,245, according to CoinDesk 20 data. As of press time, it changed hands at $ 37,092.
“While BTC has fallen below $ 30,000 for a very short period of time in the consolidation phase, the fact that it didn’t completely collapse is inherently bullish,” said Chad Steinglass, trading director at CrossTower Capital.
Bitcoin has closed over $ 30,000 a day for over a month. In CoinDesk’s candlestick charts, which show a more complete picture of price orders in commerce, Bitcoin quickly picks up again every time it’s below $ 30,000.
Bitcoin’s historical candle price chart last month.
Source: CoinDesk 20
Technical analysts often refer to this phenomenon as “support,” an area where traders have placed orders or are starting to buy, usually because they think a certain price point is tempting.
“There appear to be solid institutional buy and tech offers just under $ 30,000 that offer adequate support that rules out the emerging shorts,” noted Jean-Marc Bonnefous, managing partner of investment firm Tellurian Capital.
Looking at the liquidations, which are automated crypto leverage margin calls for the derivatives location BitMEX, it is clear that a larger proportion of short and long positions have been eliminated in recent weeks.
Bitcoin liquidations on BitMEX last month.
Source: Skew
Of the $ 1.1 billion BTC liquidations last month, $ 699 million, or 63%, were short-term wipes.
According to CrossTower’s Steinglass, large buyers are helping to maintain price levels and are now driving them up. “After the brief buzz of excitement generated by Elon Musk’s tweet and support, we’re seeing another round of institutional support, largely led by Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy,” added Steinglass.
Continue reading: MicroStrategy adds another $ 10 million purchase to Bitcoin Trove
However, not everyone is a permabull. Although Bitcoin price hasn’t been seen on Wednesday since January 28th, Joel Kruger, currency strategist at LMAX Digital, is cautious. “While we wouldn’t rule out another setback above $ 40,000, the risk balance leans toward anticipation of a troubled consolidation phase rather than anything else in the coming weeks,” Kruger told CoinDesk. “Medium- and long-term technical studies confirm this outlook, as they are still quite high after the parabolic ramp-up in January.”
An interesting development: Futures Open Interest on CME, a platform for institutional investors, has fallen 29% to $ 1.7 billion since it hit an all-time high of $ 2.4 billion in Open Interest on Jan. 14.
Bitcoin futures have been open to CME for the past three months.
Source: Skew
This is a sign that interest in bitcoin hedging – and possibly BTC as a whole – is likely to be lower as investors test other waters like ethers.
“We believe that when it comes to consensus and acceptance in the cryptocurrency space, everything is through Bitcoin,” said Kruger. “(But) where traders who may feel they have missed Bitcoin, they tried to take advantage of the trend through ether.”
The price frenzy of the airwaves penetrates the options market
The second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ether (ETH), rose around $ 1,637 on Wednesday and rose 6.6% in the space of 24 hours at 9:00 PM UTC (4:00 PM ET). According to CoinDesk 20 data, it hit a new all-time high at around 7:00 PM UTC (2:00 PM ET) at $ 1,651 on Wednesday.
“After Bitcoin’s recent surge, there seems to be room for ETH to grow and hit new highs in the coming days and weeks,” said Elie Le Rest, partner at the quantitative trading company ExoAlpha. “With [decentralized finance] to be a hot topic mainly supported by Ethereum technology and [with] For ETH 2.0, a significant price increase at ETH is eagerly anticipated in the course of 2021. “
Continue reading: Sneaker App Switches From Ethereum To Hedera To Skip Blockchain Fees
The booming price of ether has spurred option activity at the Deribit venue, noted Greg Magadini, CEO of data aggregator Genesis Volatility. “Traders pay relatively more for the ‘speculative options’ in anticipation of larger market movements,” he told CoinDesk.
Deribit’s launch of $ 10,000 Ether contracts in January is one example. More than 8,000 ETH calls at this exercise price are open at the time of going to press.
Open interest in $ 10,000 ETH calls since launch on Jan 5th.
Source: Genesis Volatility
“These calls were recently released by Deribit and there is already a lot of activity going on,” Magadini told CoinDesk. “Four-digit ETH prices are beginning to enter the psychology of the market.”
Other markets
The digital assets of CoinDesk 20 are all on Green Wednesday. Notable Winners as of 9:00 PM UTC (4:00 PM ET):
Continue reading: Guggenheim CIO says Bitcoin could eventually climb to $ 600,000
- Oil rose 1.3%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate Crude: $ 55.78.
- Gold was in the red at 0.19% and at $ 1,833 at press time.
- Silver gains 1% and changes hands at $ 26.85.
- The 10-year US Treasury yield rose to 1.135 on Wednesday and is still in the green to 4.7%.
The CoinDesk 20: The assets that matter most to the market
