The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) has warned investors about the risks of Bitcoin futures trading — citing market volatility, a lack of regulation and fraud to name a few issues. In a June 10 Investor Alerts bulletin, the SEC outlines key points that investors should “carefully consider” before investing in a fund that buys or sells Bitcoin futures. “Investors should understand that Bitcoin, including gaining exposure through the Bitcoin futures market, is a highly speculative investment,” the bulletin read. This latest Bitcoin-related risk warning from the SEC follows up on a note it sent out last month, warning …

Ether (ETH) has outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) by 32% since May, and even though there has been a steady flow of bullish reports from JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, derivatives metrics show elements of bearishness in both assets. Bitcoin is trading 41% below its $64,900 all-time high, and that move has driven the "Crypto Fear and Greed Index" to its lowest level since March 2020. While retail traders fear the dip, global investment firm Guggenheim Investments has filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for a new fund that may seek exposure to Bitcoin. Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller reiterated …

The May 28 futures and options expiry could be a turning point for Ether (ETH), as the cryptocurrency rebounded 60% from its $1,730 low on May 23. Even though the open interest stands at $6.2 billion, only 16% is set to expire on Friday, as most of the action takes place on perpetual and June contracts. One must account for the options expiry, as it could present an imbalance of forces. This feature is not true for futures markets, where longs (buyers) and shorts (sellers) are matched at all times. Options are divided into two independent segments: call (buy) options, …

A total of 53,400 Bitcoin (BTC) options are set to expiry on Friday. At first sight, bulls appear to lead as the $2.1-billion open interest call (buy) to put (sell) options ratio stands at 1.32, favoring the neutral-to-bullish derivatives. However, after Bitcoin dropped 33% in May, the right to acquire BTC at $46,000 and above is essentially worthless since there is less than 38 hours left before expiry. On May 20, Cointelegraph reported that “May 28 will be no different with $1.95 billion open interest. While it seems premature to call it, bears will likely continue to pressure markets, considering …

Data shows that AAVE and Polygon (MATIC) traders are currently being paid up to 4.3% per week to long future contracts. In the crypto markets, traders are usually bullish, or at least the majority of retail investors are. This causes an interesting phenomenon as it incentives arbitrage desks and whales to sell futures contracts while simultaneously buying on regular spot exchanges. The above chart shows the incredible 240% gain accumulated in 2021 as crypto reached a $2.58 trillion total capitalization on May 11. The 53% correction that followed over the next week led to a $1.3 trillion bottom, decimating $32 …

As the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is attempting to establish support at $37,000 on Tuesday, the recent $30,000 lows may have been the bottom, suggests one derivatives market indicator that has a history of accurately predicting BTC/USD cyclical lows following its bear cycles. The last time it predicted a bottom was on Nov. 1, following which the cost to purchase one Bitcoin surged from $13,771 to as high as $64,899 on Coinbase. Anatomy of a bullish indicator Dubbed as “rolling basis,” the indicator mathematically represents the relative difference between the price of the futures contract and the spot rate on …

XRP’s price soared 260% in April, moving from $0.57 on March 31 to $1.97 on April 14, its highest level since January 2018. The move caused XRP futures to reach an impressive $2.1 billion in open interest. However, on Wednesday, as cryptocurrency markets collapsed, XRP lost 60% in four days, liquidating $510 million of long positions. The futures open interest retraced to $550 million, roughly the same level from early February when the altcoin traded near $0.40. Investors are now questioning whether XRP futures will ever be able to recover to a multi-billion-dollar market. Were April’s figures inflated by excessive …

Ether's futures premium has gone through a complete cycle, from April's extreme euphoria to the present level, which is the most bearish in six months. Believe it or not, in both situations, Ether's (ETH) price was roughly $2,100. This change shows how investors' mood depends on a few weeks' performances and holds no relation to longer time frames. By analyzing the futures markets' price difference compared against regular spot exchanges, traders can better understand how the price move has impacted professional traders. Typically, the three-month futures trade with an 8% to 15% annualized premium, comparable to the stablecoin lending rate. …

The stream of negative regulatory news concerning Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies has been nonstop over the past couple of weeks. Today's FUD — fear, uncertainty and doubt — news that failed to cite any actions and merely refreshes old information from China. A statement from the Chinese government revealed plans to "crack down on Bitcoin mining and trading behavior." While retail traders are easily scared by this type of news, whales and market makers know how to spot a buying opportunity, which was the case for today's drop to $36,200. China banned Bitcoin trading… in 2017 The Chinese Financial Stability …

Traders have become accustomed to perpetual futures markets trading pretty much in line with the regular spot markets. After all, there are incentives for arbitrage desks to buy those contracts at a discount. However, during periods of extreme volatility, market makers typically are not able to meet the demand. This movement could happen due to connectivity problems with the exchanges serves or the market makers' lack of funds to add more positions. While these situations are rare, today's performance was nothing short of unusual as some altcoins dropped by 30% or more. This movement caused anomalies on futures contracts, which …

As Bitcoin (BTC) tested the $43,000 support for the third consecutive day, whales bought the dip on derivatives exchanges. While there has been no significant price change, the Bitcoin futures premium reached its lowest level in six months. This indicator matches Dec. 11, 2020, when Bitcoin hit a $17,600 low just 10 days after making an all-time high at $19,915. In December 2020, derivatives action triggered a 95% rally in 23 days, taking Bitcoin to a new high at $42,000. In addition to the futures premium bottoming, rumors of potentially harmful United States regulation played a central-stage role in the …

The crypto sector is in a bull market, and frequent evidence comes from anonymous traders who post their five-, six- and seven-figure investment returns as screenshots on Crypto Twitter. This condition creates a FOMO-like situation where everyone gets greedy. The temptation to boost potential earnings by twenty times or more is often irresistible for most novice traders. Today, almost every cryptocurrency exchange offers leveraged trading using derivatives. To enter these markets, a trader has to first deposit collateral (margin), which is usually a stablecoin or Bitcoin (BTC). However, unlike spot (regular) trading, the trader cannot withdraw from a futures market …