Bitcoin and the overall cryptocurrency market saw minor losses on April 29 as the market heads into the expiry of $4.2 billion worth of (BTC) options contracts. Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that since reaching a high above $56,400 on April 28, the price of Bitcoin has dropped more than 6% back down near the $53,000 support level while Ethereum (ETH) continues to trade above $2,700. Despite the lull in market activity, signs of mainstream cryptocurrency integration continue to emerge on a near-daily basis. Earlier today Coinbase announced that users can now purchase up to $25,000 worth of …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been struggling to sustain above the $53,000 support for the past three days, while Ether (ETH) soared to a new all-time high at $2,800. In the current scenario, some traders would rather wait for Friday's CME futures expiry before entering long BTC positions, as historically, its price tends to correct ahead of the event. On the other hand, Ether's price has been positively impacted by the European Investment Bank launching a "digital bond" sale using the Ethereum network. The EIB is issuing a two-year 100-million-euro ($120.8 million) digital bond, with the deal to be led by Goldman …

Bitcoin's (BTC) 2021 performance has been impressive, but traders waiting for a record-breaking monthly candle are likely to be disappointed this week. After peaking at $64,900 on April 14, a jaw-breaking 27% correction followed, causing BTC price to drop to the $46,000 level. This downside move obliterated more than $9 billion long BTC futures contracts in a swift action that was previously unthinkable to most investors. Even though the Bitcoin price recovered $5,800 over the past 48-hours, in the options markets, the bulls were not able to take the bears by surprise as both sides are virtually balanced for April …

Bitcoin (BTC) might have recovered from the $47,000 low seen on April 25, but the subsequent 15% bounce was not enough to bring optimism to the BTC options markets. Even at the present $54,000 level, the price remains 17% below the $64,900 all-time high reached on April 14. The popular Crypto Fear & Greed Index reached its lowest level in 12 months, signaling thatinvestors are closer to "extreme fear," which is a complete reversal from the "extreme greed" level seen on April 18. This indicator gathers data from price volatility, volume change, social media activity, Bitcoin dominance and recent search …

As Bitcoin (BTC) lost the $52,000 support on April 22, the futures contracts funding rate entered negative terrain. This uncommon situation causes the shorts, investors betting on price downside, to pay fees every eight hours. While the rate itself is mildly damaging, this situation creates incentives for arbitrage desks and market makers to buy perpetual contracts (inverse swaps) while simultaneously selling the future monthly contracts. The cheaper it is for long-term leverage, the higher the incentives for bulls to open positions, creating a perfect "bear trap." The above chart shows how unusual a negative funding rate is, and typically it …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been bouncing at the $51,000 support for the past 44 days. Typically, this would be interpreted as a positive occurrence, especially considering that the $50,000 level represents a 75% advance in 2021. However, cryptocurrency investors are typically short-term-focused and always overly optimistic. Thus, the current narrative for Bitcoin is slowly turning bearish but aside from sentiment, what story are the fundamentals telling? However, there is a possibility that the recent drop has its roots in the $1.55 billion options expiry set to occur on April 23. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, bears have a $340 million advantage …

Bitcoin (BTC) price is making a slow recovery after facing a sharp 16% correction in the early hours of April 18. While some analysts blame a 9,000 BTC deposit at Binance, others focused on the hashrate drop caused by a coal mining accident in China. Regardless of the reason behind the $51,200 low, options market makers were forced to adjust their exposure. Typically, arbitrage desks seek non-directional exposure, meaning they are not directly betting on BTC moving in any particular direction. However, neutralizing options exposure usually requires a dynamic hedge, meaning positions must be adjusted according to Bitcoin's price. These …

Open interest in Bitcoin futures has surged to new record highs ahead of Coinbase’s Wednesday direct listing on the Nasdaq. Crypto market data aggregator Glassode states that Bitcoin open interest has exceeded $27 billion for the first time as Bitcoin (BTC) pushed into new record highs above $63,000. The milestone suggests traders may be speculating on higher prices, although some may also be hedging against incoming volatility. #Bitcoin Futures Open Interest across major exchanges reaches record highs of more than $27B as $BTC hits new ATHs. Chart: https://t.co/GqgQ98W7Mq pic.twitter.com/KYBQC9WZxC — glassnode (@glassnode) April 13, 2021 The lion’s share of trading …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been trying to break the $60,000 resistance for the past 23 days. Generally, investors don’t seem too worried about this, as they consider it a healthy consolidation period, and even recent analysis from JPMorgan Chase estimates that Bitcoin price will reach $130,000. Even as most investors expect the price of Bitcoin to rise above $100,000, derivatives data shows $2.52 billion worth of ultra-bearish options from the $40,000–$50,000 range. At the moment, there are multiple signals that the crypto market is overheating. There is an 11% BTC price premium in South Korean markets, and this week, Cointelegraph reported …

Bitcoin (BTC) is primed for a price breakout after beating out volatility, but April may still produce a surprise sell-off. In his latest market update on Friday, Filbfilb, co-founder of trading suite DecenTrader, said that he now expects upside to take over on BTC/USD. BTC “threatening a breakout” Bitcoin has recovered from its flash crash earlier in the week and briefly hit $60,000 overnight on Friday. With seven-day gains still at 13%, there are plenty of reasons to be bullish in the short term now that consolidation looks set to conclude, Filbfilb argues. “With the weekend looming amidst a buoyant …

The open interest on Bitcoin (BTC) Dec. 31 call options between $100,000 and $300,000 reached an impressive 6,700 contracts, which is currently worth $385 million. These derivatives give the buyer the right to acquire Bitcoin for a fixed price, while the seller is obliged to honor the price. One might think that this is a great way to leverage a long position, but it comes at a cost and is usually quite high. For this right, the buyer pays an upfront fee (premium) to the call option seller. For example, the $100,000 call option is currently trading at 0.164 BTC, …

With Coinbase’s highly anticipated direct listing IPO expected to take place next month, options traders appear to be betting that Bitcoin will once again soar to new all-time highs in the coming weeks. On March 24, the founders of crypto analytics firm Glassnode tweeted data suggesting that options traders on peer-to-peer crypto derivatives exchange, Deribit, are loading up on contracts set to expire on April 30 with a strike price of $80,000. Contracts worth a notional value of 4,000 BTC have been purchased targeting the price-point in total, more than any other strike-price by at least 50%. This Friday $6 …