2024-11-12 04:30

BTC's breakout has the market in a state of euphoria, QCP Capital said. BTC's breakout has the market in a state of euphoria, QCP Capital said. Elevated perpetual funding rates and basis yields suggest potential leverage washouts ahead. As bitcoin (BTC) prices approach the $90,000 mark, a sense of euphoria or extreme optimism seems to be sweeping through the market, warning of a potential price pullback ahead. That's the latest analysis from Singapore-based crypto trading firm QCP Capital. "With BTC's break of key resistance and it's multi-month range, the market is certainly in a state of euphoria. Perp funding is very elevated and basis yields are at seven-month highs," QCP Capital said in a Telegram broadcast. "While we remain structurally bullish, we are cautious of any pullbacks, especially from leveraged washouts," the trading firm added. The open interest-weighted funding rates in perpetuals or futures with no expiry have surged to 0.056%, the highest since at least March, according to Coinglass. It's a sign that bullish long positions are likely getting crowded, and a slight price pullback could see over leveraged bulls capitulate, closing their longs and inadvertently exacerbating downside pressures in the market. Leverage washouts have been a common phenomenon in previous bull markets, often leading to a sudden double-digit percentage price drops. An elevated funding rate means perpetual futures are trading at a premium to the spot price. Standard futures contracts are also trading at an annualized premium (basis) of over 15% across all exchanges, including the CME. The premium represents the return available on the market-neutral cash and carry arbitrage strategy that involves buying the asset in the spot market while simultaneously selling a futures contract. Per QCP Capital, historically such sharp spikes in the so-called basis yields have not lasted very long. BTC changed hands at $88,300 at press time, representing a nearly 30% gain in seven days, according to CoinDesk data. Prices hit a high of $89,622 during the overnight trade. The price surge since Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. election held on Nov. 5 has sparked a strong belief among traders that this upward trend will continue unabated. The optimism is reflected in the reactions on social media platform X whenever a potential resistance zone for BTC is mentioned! https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/12/bitcoin-market-euphoric-faces-risk-of-pullbacks-and-leverage-washouts-trading-firm-warns-as-btc-price-nears-90k/

2024-11-11 16:14

Gold and most of the so-called magnificent seven tech stocks are down on the day. Bitcoin touched a record-high $85,000, TradingView data shows, as it extended its rally following the U.S. elections. Gold and the so-called magnificent seven tech stocks are underperforming. Bitcoin (BTC) hit $85,000 Monday, data from graphing platform TradingView shows, as it extended its rally following Donald Trump's victory in the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization continues to hit all-time highs, which shows a strong uptrend. In the past week alone, bitcoin has added almost $20,000 from its Nov. 6 low of $66,700. It was trading recently at $84,255, having climbed as high as $84,989, according to CoinDesk Indices data. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), a measure of the broader crypto market, has climbed 29% since the election. The interesting part is that the so-called magnificent seven tech stocks are underperforming. Apple (AAPL), NVIDIA (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and META (META) are all down on the day, while Google (GOOGL) is slightly up. Tesla, holding 9,720 BTC, has added 9.6%. Gold is down almost 3%. This could be a rotation from tech stocks and gold into cryptocurrencies as the market awaits Trump's entry into the White House early next year. His campaign emphasized his support for cryptocurrencies. In addition, according to Senior Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) saw $1 billion in volume in the first 35 minutes of trading. "Day after election it did that in 20minutes, so a bit less than last Wednesday but still pretty intense. Pretty good early indicator of strong inflows this week", according to Balchunas. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/11/bitcoin-climbs-above-84k-adds-almost-20k-in-a-week/

2024-11-11 13:55

As bitcoin's ongoing price surge gives off an aura of invincibility, one force threatens to slow the ascent above $90,000. Deribit-listed BTC options at $90,000 and $100,000 strikes have been sold to dealers, according to Amberdata. The rally may lose steam if prices reach those levels. As bitcoin's (BTC) ongoing price surge gives off an aura of invincibility, one force threatens to slow the ascent above $90,000, potentially keeping the cryptocurrency rangebound above the said price level. The force is of market makers or dealers – entities responsible for providing liquidity to the order book, profiting from the bid-ask spread while constantly striving to maintain a market-neutral exposure. Those making the bitcoin options market on crypto exchange Deribit currently appear to have a significant positive "gamma" exposure at the $90,000 and $100,000 strike options. In simple terms, it means traders/investors have sold options at these levels, leaving market makers, who are always on the opposite side, with a large chunk of long positions. When market makers have long or positive gamma exposures, they tend to buy the underlying asset when its price is falling and sell on the rise to keep their net exposure direction neutral. This hedging acts as a volatility dampener, restricting price swings. In bitcoin's case, it means market makers will likely trade against the market direction between $90,000 and $100,000, thereby keeping prices rangebound, assuming other things being equal. "We see a lot of traders owning [buying] optionality up to the $90K handle for Nov 29th and Dec 27th. But the $90k-$100k+ range has been sold to dealers," Amberdata's Director of Derivatives, Greg Magadini, said. "Should the market get there, we might see prices struggle, unless sentiment shifts further bullish," Magadini added. Options are derivative contracts that give the purchaser the right but not the obligation to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price at a later date. A call gives the right to buy and the put option confers the right to sell. Gamma is one of the critical options "Greeks," measuring how much the price of an option accelerates when the underlying asset's price moves. The net gamma exposure determines how aggressively an options market maker needs to buy or sell the underlying asset to keep overall exposure neutral. Bitcoin is currently changing hands just above $82,000, just 8% away from the crucial $90,000 level, according to CoinDesk data. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/11/why-bitcoins-record-price-rally-may-be-choked-between-90k-and-100k/

2024-11-11 13:48

The company's bitcoin yield thus far this quarter is 7.4% and over 26% year-to-date. Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, has bought another 27,200 BTC for $2 billion. Its bitcoin stash was acquired for a cumulative $11.9 billion, meaning MicroStrategy is currently in profit to the tune of around $11 billion. Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, has bought another 27,200 bitcoin (BTC) for almost $2 billion. The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based firm now holds 279,420 BTC, worth just under $23 billion as bitcoin has scaled to an all-time high of above $82,000. Its bitcoin stash was acquired for a cumulative $11.9 billion, meaning MicroStrategy is currently in profit to the tune of around $11 billion. The company's bitcoin yield thus far this quarter is 7.4% and over 26% year-to-date, MicroStrategy announced on Monday. The latest acquisition of 27,200 has already banked over $200 million in profit, given they were acquired at at an average price of $74,463 apiece and have appreciated nearly $8,000 per coin. MicroStrategy's bitcoin-acquisition strategy involves issuing shares and then acquiring BTC with the proceeds, which helps to drive bitcoin's price further and by extension pumps the MSTR share price. MSTR shares are up over 9% in pre-market trading at $295 as of the time of writing. Read More: Metaplanet Gains First Index Listing With Inclusion on CoinShares' BLOCK Index https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/11/microstrategy-buys-another-27200-btc-for-2b-bitcoin-profits-sit-at-11b/

2024-11-11 13:26

A Republican sweep is the best result for the digital assets sector and could bring regulatory and other positive changes, the report said. A Republican sweep could see total crypto market cap grow to $10 trillion by the end of 2026, the bank said. Positive changes are expected for crypto markets early in the new administration, the report said Standard Chartered said we have now entered a crypto summer. A Republican sweep would allow the new government to push through positive policies for the digital assets sector, which could lead to total crypto market cap swelling to $10 trillion by the end of 2026, investment bank Standard Chartered (STAN) said in a research report on Friday. Standard Chartered said it sees a number of tailwinds for crypto markets early in the new administration including regulatory changes and a shuffle of positions at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that could lead to a more benign stance on digital assets. The bank said these positive developments could see total crypto market cap grow fourfold from $2.5 trillion currently to $10 trillion by the end of 2026. "The rising tide should lift all digital assets; those most exposed to end-use cases are set to benefit most," wrote Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered. The new administration may also consider the formation of a bitcoin reserve, but this is viewed as a "low-probability but high-impact event," the report said. The bank reiterated its 2025 year-end target of around $200,000 for bitcoin (BTC) and $10,000 for ether (ETH), and said it expected solana (SOL) to outperform the largest two cryptocurrencies. "With a Republican sweep in the U.S. election now looking likely, we believe we have entered the crypto summer," Kendrick wrote. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/11/crypto-market-cap-could-ballon-to-10t-by-2026-under-trump-administration-standard-chartered/

2024-11-11 11:29

As bitcoin climbs above $82,000, U.S. crypto equities are soaring in pre-market trading, with Semler Scientific leading with a 25% gain. Crypto equities in the U.S. are up more than 10% across the board as bitcoin climbs above $82,000 to a new record. Semler Scientific is leading the pack, with a 25% gain in pre-market trading. MicroStrategy shares climbed above $300. Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this piece owns shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR), Riot Platforms (RIOT), Semler Scientific (SMLR) and Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA). Bitcoin (BTC), the leading token by market capitalization, surpassed $82,000 for the first time in its history over the weekend, spurring price gains in U.S. crypto equities before the official start of trading. MicroStrategy, the publicly traded company holding the largest amount of bitcoin, 252,200 BTC, rallied 11% to more than $300 a share. Copycat Semler Scientific surged 25% and is approaching a high for the year. Crypto exchange Coinbase added almost 17%. MARA (MARA) is leading gains among miners, up almost 20%. The positive price action is helped by the bitcoin held on its balance sheet, which is 26,842 BTC, a level surpassed only MicroStrategy. Other notable miner performances include Riot Platforms (RIOT), IREN (IREN) and HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE), all up double digits. In addition, on Nov. 8, CleanSpark (CLSK) addressed the trading halt that occurred on Nov. 7 due to a clerical warrant conversion error, with the company's acquisition of GRIID on Oct. 30. "An issue relating to the calculation of the number of outstanding warrants (Nasdaq: CLSKW) (the "Warrants") and the number of shares underlying those Warrants. The trading halt is not the result of any issue associated with CleanSpark's business, operations, filings with the SEC, financial statements or securities," the fir, said. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/11/pre-market-trading-in-us-crypto-stocks-explodes-with-microstrategy-topping-300/