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  • CME Group to expand BTC and Ether options expiries in May

    CME Group to expand BTC and Ether options expiries in May

    • CME group says demand from clients has increased amid the heightened market volatility.
    • The marketplace plans to expand expiries for its standard and micro-sized BTC and Ether options contracts.
    • Approval would see the derivatives platform make the changes on 22 May, 2023.

    Derivatives marketplace CME Group is seeking to expand its options expiries for Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to an announcement published today, 17 April 2023.

    The platform, which says the plans are subject to regulatory approval, indicates that the plan is to have its suite of crypto options for BTC and ETH contracts expiries be available every business week day – Monday to Friday.

    Currently, expiries for micro-sized options on the two crypto futures are available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The CME also offers monthly and quarterly expiries for BTC and ETH options on its futures contracts.

    If approved, the company will look to have the new expiries available beginning 22 May.

    Client demand for BTC and ETH products

    Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products said the goal is to have market participants access options contracts that offer “greater precision and versatility” for managing short-term Bitcoin and Ethereum price risk.

    “Against a backdrop of heightened market volatility in the digital asset sector, we continue to see clients turn to a trusted, regulated venue like CME Group for reliable and efficient cryptocurrency risk management products,” Vicioso added.

    CME Group has seen an increase in demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures and options. The top two assets by market cap are also the two best cryptocurrencies for crypto derivatives trading. 

    The bitcoin’s numbers in Q1, 2023 for CME achieved a notional of over $3 billion, a record in terms of daily average. The marketplace also saw a record BTC options contracts of 2,357 traded on 22 March 22. Open interest rose to an all-time high of 14,700 contracts on 31 March and could soar further amid a long-term bullish Bitcoin price prediction, particularly going into the next halving.

    The all-time high for Ether options contracts was 311 on 22 February, while OI hit a record 1,800 contracts on 24 March.

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  • Bitfinex analysts say BTC is in “transition”

    Bitfinex analysts say BTC is in “transition”

    • The number of Bitcoin wallets with non-zero BTC balance recently hit a new all-time high of 45.388 million.
    • However, daily active addresses and daily confirmed transactions have fallen.
    • Bitcoin price remains bullish but analysts urge caution as on-chain metrics indicate weakness amid renewed correlation with S&P 500.

    Bitcoin price currently trends above$28,300, about 0.7% higher in the past 24 hours. The slight uptick follows the crypto market moving beyond rumours around a Red Notice warrant for Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. 

    Bitcoin’s resilience also comes after the market reacted upward on Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s move to replace the platform’s bird symbol with a Shiba Inu dog, a symbol for DOGE – the native token of the original meme crypto Dogecoin. 

    DOGE price shot up more than 30% to above $0.1 for the first time since early December 2022.

    Bitcoin growth outlook: non-zero balance wallets hit 45.4 million

    Bitcoin continues to see huge demand as non-zero balance wallets grow to more than 45 million, according to details shared in the latest Bitfinex Alpha report.

    But even as the benchmark cryptocurrency records a new high for small BTC holders , with this the fastest rate non-zero balance wallets have grown since early 2021, analysts commenting on Bitcoin price in the report suggest investors might have to be a bit cautious in the short term.

    According to on-chain data, non-zero addresses count hit 45.388 million last week as Bitcoin price held above$27k to end the first quarter on a bullish note.

    The jump in non-zero balance wallets marks a positive development for the network and for Bitcoin price, with this metric’s growth suggesting that more investors have recently entered the Bitcoin market. In any case, an increase in non-zero balance holders often points to new demand, particularly from small investors.

    Yet, this positive outlook aside, other on-chain metrics suggest bulls may need to be cautious in the short term. As noted in the Bitfinex Alpha report, the market is in a transition and indecisive.

    “A transition state is characterised by choppy market conditions where the price consolidates in a tight range before trending in either direction. Despite an influx of new market entrants, the sustainability of this phenomena of both rapidly growing non-zero balances and tight range-trading for Bitcoin remains uncertain,” they noted.

    BTC price – key on-chain metrics suggest weakness

    Bitfinex analysts suggest that other metrics indicate Bitcoin price may continue to consolidate around $28 as both bulls and bears remain indecisive.

    Among key on-chain metrics to watch are bitcoin network statistics related to daily active addresses and daily confirmed transactions. 

    For instance, the 7-day moving average of daily active addresses recently dropped to levels last seen in late January. The number of confirmed daily transactions have also declined. 

    In the past two weeks, the Bitcoin network recorded a 7-day average of 293,058 transactions with the figures on 30 March suggesting a 13% decline from data recorded on 8 March. The Bitfinex analysts commented on the two metrics:

    “While this is an inconclusive indicator in terms of bullish or bearish signals, daily activity and transactions decreasing for Bitcoin have always occurred at transitionary phases in the crypto market. They suggest indecision and an unsettling predicament for both bulls and bears.”

    Bitcoin’s correlation with S&P 500 – is it rising again?

    While bulls attempt to strengthen above $28k again, data shows BTC correlation with stocks is increasing after falling significantly in early March, with BTC price outperforming the major US indices over the month and year-to-date at the end of Q1, 2023.

    However, per the Bitfinex report and as CoinJournal analyst Dan Ashmore highlighted last week, Bitcoin is on track to restore its correlation with the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ composite as its price continues to hover between $27k and resistance above $28k. 

    Notably, the Pearson metric shows BTC/NASDAQ correlation is up to 0.61 while correlation with the S&P 500 reads 0.12. 

    Any value above zero indicates a positive correlation and these figures suggest Bitcoin could trade more in lockstep with equity indices amid macroeconomic headwinds.

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  • 10.3k wallets increased to 10+ BTC starting February 2022

    10.3k wallets increased to 10+ BTC starting February 2022

    • Bitcoin addresses holding 10 or more BTC grew 71% in just over a year.
    • According to on-chain data, 10,279 new BTC wallets joined the cohort holding 10+ bitcoin between February 2022 and March 2023.
    • Wallets with 10-100 bitcoin cumulatively hold over 4.4 million BTC, or roughly 23% of supply.

    While cryptocurrency prices fell sharply as the bear market of 2022 saw massive contagion across the industry, the number of addresses holding 10+ bitcoins kept rising. Wallets in this category grew 71% between February 2022 and March 2023.

    10.3k addresses with 10+ BTC added since February 2022

    According to the latest data from crypto analytics platform Santiment, the number of addresses with more than 10 BTC have increased by 10,279 since February 2022.

    Per the data, total bitcoin holdings within this cohort remain largely stagnant. However, a 71% increase in the amount of addresses for the past year or so sees these wallets’ overall holdings approach the all-time highs reached in 2019. 

    Currently at 155,000 addresses, the number of bitcoin wallets with 10 or more BTC are just 2,000 less than the all-time high of September 2019, Santiment tweeted on Thursday.

    Looking into bitcoin distribution data as of 30 March, about 139,864 wallets hold between 10-100 bitcoin, with total holdings of over 4.43 million coins for 23% of supply. Another 14,033 wallets currently hold 100-1000 BTC, accounting for just over 20% of supply at 3.9 million BTC.

    On-chain data also shows the largest whales, with 1k-10k bitcoin and 10k-100k BTC holdings, number 1,906 and 112 respectively. Cumulatively, these wallets hold about 6.9 million coins to account for roughly 35% of bitcoin supply.

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  • Galaxy Digital CEO says BTC and ETH are best investments

    Galaxy Digital CEO says BTC and ETH are best investments

    • Mike Novogratz is bullish on crypto, particularly the top two coins Bitcoin and Ethereum.
    • The Galaxy Digital CEO says BTC and ETH been best risk-adjusted investments over the last few years.
    • He also suggested during the company’s earnings call that the US risks losing its place as finanial and innovation leader.

    Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz says crypto is in “a good moment” highlighting the fact that Bitcoin and Ethereum have been the best risk-adjusted investments in the world over the past few years.

    The billionaire investor said this while commenting on the crypto market outlook during Galaxy Digital’s earnings call. He said:

    “I look right now and say, “What’s the good?” Bitcoin is trading over $27,000, Ethereum over $1,700. On a risk-adjusted basis, that’s volatility adjusted, Sharpe ratio adjusted, Bitcoin and Ethereum have been the two best-performing assets in the world this year. They’ve been the two best-performing assets in the world over the last two years. So, whatever Jamie Dimon wants to say, whatever the Biden administration wants to say, they’re just wrong, and the world knows that.”

    Novogratz explains what’s driving crypto

    Bitcoin has tested resistance near $29,000 in 2023, with its current price of $28,650 about 84% higher year-to-date. Ethereum has also traded above $1,800 as investors eye the $2,000 level. According to latest market data, the price of Ethereum is about 61% higher YTD.

    In Novogratz’ opinion, recent price action has the top coins poised for greater gains over the next several months. As highlighted in the earnings call transcript, the Galaxy Digital CEO believes all “the selling that needed done as crypto prices fell was done.

    Retail has also been behind much of the recent price appreciation, the billionaire investor added.

    “What’s promising, and what has driven crypto broadly this year, is two things. One, all the selling that needed to get done got done, right? There was so much bad news, if you had to sell, panic selling and just the nervousness of “Oh my God! This thing could go to zero,” and people were in sheer panic, you had seller’s exhaustion. But, you’ve had Asia reopen. China has—you know, post the Xi protests around COVID Zero, China took the regulatory boot of the necks of their tech companies, and that includes crypto, so you’re seeing, with Chinese traveling, you’re seeing more activity from Asia.”

    Bitcoin could be “substantially” higher in a few months

    Novogratz also believes the current wave of adoption across the Middle-East, Hong Kong and Europe is good for the crypto industry, even as the US risks losing its place as a financial market leader. 

    According to him, the Biden administration’s attack on crypto, as evidenced by the series of enforcement actions and charges among other things, is shortsighted.

    As for his outlook for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market, the Galaxy Digital chief noted:

    “The market feels strong, and when I look at it technically on charts, we’ve had big weekly closes. I’m surprised to hear myself say this, given where my mindset was in late December, but it would not surprise if we were substantially higher three months, six months, nine months from now.”

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  • MicroStrategy repays Silvergate Bank loan, buy 6,455 BTC

    MicroStrategy repays Silvergate Bank loan, buy 6,455 BTC

    • MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor announced the company had repaid the $205 million loan at a 22% discount.
    • The company also bought 6,455 bitcoins worth $150 million.
    • Saylor’s company currently holds more than 138,900 bitcoins.

    MicroStrategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has revealed it recently purchased more BTC. 

    The business intelligence company, founded by Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, also announced on Monday that it had repaid the loan to the failed crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Bank.

    MicroStrategy repays $250 million loan, buys 6,455 BTC

    Saylor, referencing his company’s latest SEC filing, said that MicroStrategy has now fully repaid the $205 million loan it borrowed from Silvergate in March 2022. The company reportedly cleared the loan principal with a 22% discount, with Friday’s payoff seeing MicroStrategy clear the collateralized loan at $160 million.

    As a result, the company recouped its 34,619 BTC that had been pledged as collateral.

    MicroStrategy also confirmed the purchase of 6,455 BTC, acquired for a total of $150 million and at an average $23,238 a coin. Saylor’s bitcoin strategy now includes a total Bitcoin haul of 138,955 BTC since the company’s first move in 2020. 

    So far, the total BTC holdings have been acquired at a cost of $4.1 billion, with each bitcoin purchased at the average price of $29,817.

    Bitcoin currently trades around $27,809 while MicroStrategy shares closed at $256.67 on Friday and were 0.07% down at 9.10 am ET ahead of US markets opening on Monday.

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  • BTC invalidates double top formation

    BTC invalidates double top formation

    • Bitcoin price rose to around $22,600 on Sunday after rallying 11% from below $20,000. 
    • Technical analyst Rekt Capital says Bitcoin has cancelled a double top formation.
    • A successful retest of $21,700 zone could see BTC continue short term upside recovery.

    Bitcoin has retested the $22,600 level after dropping sharply to trade under $20,000 last week.

    While the benchmark cryptocurrency currently trades around $22,350 and is 9% up in the past 24 hours, the short term outlook suggests an invalidation of a bearish pattern that had bears eyeing another leg towards the low $19,000s. 

    Bitcoin price prediction: What next after weekly close at $21,770?

    Crypto analyst Rekt Capital has updated his outlook for BTC price after the coin’s value successfully broke from below $20,000. 

    According to the technical analyst, the weekly close above $21,770 could provide fresh bullish impetus as it has cancelled a double top formation on the weekly chart.

    “It’s incredible how the #BTC Weekly Close of last week invalidated the Double Top formation. The Double Top initially played out to see price drop into the $19000s, but ultimately, $BTC Weekly Closed above $21770 to cancel out the Double Top,” the popular crypto analyst shared via Twitter.

    As noted above, Bitcoin price rose to highs of $22,600 across major cryptocurrency exchanges late Sunday. This was after positive news around the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank buoyed stock futures and saw the de-pegged USDC bounce to just shy of its US dollar parity.

    Trading Monday has seen some profit taking deals force BTC to give up gains. However, the flagship cryptocurrency has successfully retested its range low as immediate support. It is possible BTC/USD will continue this intra-range consolidation, Rekt Capital has predicted.

    Looking at the technical picture as seen on the daily chart, we see another successful daily close above $21,700. While Bitcoin could continue higher, a pullback to the level might happen. Breaking higher from this zone once again could catalyse further upside momentum, with next targets in the $23,400 region.

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  • Bitcoin continues “boring action” as BTC hovers above $22k

    Bitcoin continues “boring action” as BTC hovers above $22k

    • Bitcoin on-chain exchange flows were $4 billion in and $4 billion out last week, Glassnode data shows.
    • Crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe highlights BTC’s “boring price action” as bulls struggle above $22,000.
    • BTC price saw downward action last week following a series of negative market related news.

    The global cryptocurrency market cap remains above the $1 trillion mark, with the past 24 hours seeing roughly 0.6% in downward change. The global trading volume in the last 24 hours is around $38.9 billion.

    But while Bitcoin (BTC) dominance hovers at 40.4%, the price action has weirdly remained more like a stablecoin. As noted on Sunday, Bitcoin managed to bounce off the $22,000 low reached as markets reacted to news related to Silvergate and Tether (USDT).

    Bitcoin price continues to hover above $22k

    Weekly on-chain exchange flow, a metric that shows the difference in BTC volume flows onto and off exchanges, points to the aforementioned flat action for Bitcoin price. The net flow aligns with the largely doji candlesticks the leading crypto by market cap has witnessed since last week.

    Popular crypto analyst and trader Michael van de Poppe has highlighted the “boring price action” for Bitcoin since last week’s sharp retreat.

    According to the analyst, BTC is still poised for a fresh bounce higher as bulls hold above key support. He also points to equities and notes a bounce for indices is likely to cascade into the crypto market. However, if a new “sweep of the lows” to $21,500 fails to hold, it could spell further losses for BTC.

    BTC sees $17.8 million in weekly net flows

    As for the net flow, data from on-chain analytics platform Glassnode shows about $17.8 million in net flows, with $4 billion in inflows and roughly $4 billion in off-exchange flows last week.

    The net flow for Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap and with over 17% of market dominance, was about $423.8 million. The leading altcoin’s exchange flows was $2 billion in on-chain inflows and $2.4 billion in outflows this past week.

    On the other hand, the leading stablecoin Tether (USDT) saw weekly net flows of about 160 million, with total $6 billion flowing into exchanges and $6.2 billion withdrawn.

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  • Bitcoin price prediction: BTC outlook after Silvergate and Tether news

    Bitcoin price prediction: BTC outlook after Silvergate and Tether news

    • Bitcoin price outlook after this week’s Silvergate and Tether news.
    • BTC is hovering around $22,400 with key resistance near $23k amid a potential technical breakout to YTD highs.
    • The $20k zone is a critical and psychological level for bulls.

    Bitcoin price remains constrained below $22,500 after posting a sharp decline on Friday following a combination of broader market weakness and negative crypto-related news.

    However, with price above $22,000, the technical outlook suggests bulls might still have a chance to push for new year-to-date highs in March or April.

    Bitcoin price prediction: BTC declined amid Silvergate Bank and Tether news

    On Wednesday, crypto-friendly bank Silvergate (SI) revealed it was a little deeper in trouble with a SEC filing that it would delay its financial report. The crypto bank then announced a halt to its payments network the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN), triggering further uncertainty around its operations following the previously revealed $1 billion loss.

    Indeed, selling pressure for BTC increased as major crypto firms including Coinbase and Paxos announced a switch from Silvergate to alternative banking partners.

    But the price of bitcoin went on to touch lows of $22,000 as more negative news emerged – the Wall Street Journal published an article related to Tether, the company that issues the world’s largest stablecoin USDT. Allegedly, Tether and Bitfinex used “falsified documents” to acquire banks accounts amid questions over the stablecoin’s reserves.

    Crypto trader and investor Scott Melker heighted the WSJ’s report in a Twitter thread on Friday.

    Bitcoin price outlook: What next for BTC/USD?

    The RSI on the 4-hour chart remains largely flattened near the lower band as price action consists mainly of doji prints. While Bitcoin is holding above a support base formed in early January, there’s indecision as signaled by the doji candlesticks.

    Bitcoin price movement on the 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

    If bears take charge further, BTC/USD will likely retest the aforementioned support line and potentially break past $22k to another key level near $21,600. Below that we could see a retest of the vastly important $20k level.

    On the upside, the immediate hurdle is the $22.5k zone, with robust supply areas expected at the price levels currently signaled by the 50 and 200 moving averages.

    The outlook on the daily chart shows the RSI sloping to suggest bears might have an upper hand. 

    However, there’s potential formation of an inverse head & shoulders pattern. The neckline of this likely inverse H&S pattern could be in the $25k zone. In any case, the immediate key price levels to watch as signaled by the 50-day and 200-day moving averages near $22,900 on the upside and $19,712 on the downside.

    Bitcoin price prediction levels on daily chart.Source: TradingView

     

    The post Bitcoin price prediction: BTC outlook after Silvergate and Tether news appeared first on CoinJournal.



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  • After 8 years, Mt. Gox creditors may start receiving their BTC this month

    After 8 years, Mt. Gox creditors may start receiving their BTC this month

    • Mt.Gox Bitcoin exploit took place in 2014.
    • The exploit remains the largest Bitcoin exploit in the history of cryptocurrencies.
    • Mt.Gox creators may however start receiving their bitcoins this month.

    Mt.Gox creditors may have a reason to smile after the exchange’s January statement hinted that the creditors could start receiving their Bitcoin (BTC) this month.

    It is about 8 years since The Mt. Gox hack occurred in early 2014 resulting in the loss of about 850,000 BTC which at today’s bitcoin value is worth more than $20.060 billion making it the worst Bitcoin hack ever as detailed in our Bitcoin statistics research.

    Most Mt.Gox creditors lost hope of getting their bitcoins back since the issue has dragged on for years. One Mt. Gox creditor, Adam Back who is also the Blockstream CEO said via Telegram:

    “Well, for myself, I had pretty much written off the Bitcoin I still had on Mt. Gox in 2014 as a loss, so philosophically anything I get back now is a bonus to cold store. It has stretched on for many more years than anyone expected, and so it will be welcome I am sure by any creditors to finally get paid.”

    Early repayments to start from March 10

    According to Mt.Gox’s January statement, creditors are expected to start seeing early bitcoin repayments from March 10. The early repayment process is planned to continue for a period of about seven months up to September 30, 2023.

    The early repayments include early lump sum payments and intermediate payments. Further repayment amounts are to be made later.

    Mt.Gox creditors were supposed to register with an exchange and nominate it to receive the repayments on their behalf. Exchanges have however given various timelines for processing payments. BitGo crypto exchange, for example, said that they will take about 20 days to process the repayments, while Kraken said that processing the payments could take up to 90 days.

    Amount of bitcoin to be repaid

    It is not clear how much bitcoin will be repaid to the Mt.Gox creditors during the repayment period. However, it is clear that it will be a portion of Mt.Gox’s balance sheet that according to a balance sheet in 2019 totals about 142,000 BTC, 143,000 BCH, and 69 billion Yen. The balance sheet is believed to have not changed much since then.

    There are expectations that the claimants may receive about 21% of the civil rehabilitation claim value because the exchange rates have been revalued since the time of bankruptcy filing.

    According to a moderator of the MtGoxInsolvency subreddit, the first 200,000 Yen worth of each creditor’s claim will be paid in Yen. If the claim is greater than 200,000 Yen, the creditors will choose crypto and cash, where they will receive 71% repayment in crypto and 29% in cash after the initial payment.

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  • BTC touches $25k as crypto rallies

    BTC touches $25k as crypto rallies

    • Bitcoin reached highs of $25,230 across major exchanges, its highest price level in over six months.
    • BTC price moved above its 200-week moving average’
    • Analysts say bulls could target fresh gains as a bullish signal flashes.

    Bitcoin broke above $25,000 as the momentum that pushed the flagship cryptocurrency higher on Wednesday continued into Thursday.

    At around 11:15 am ET, the price of Bitcoin against the US dollar was up 10.7%, with BTC trading at $25,093 after briefly touching highs of $25,230 across major exchanges. Despite shedding some of the gains, BTC looks poised for further upside action should bulls successfully retest and hold prices above the critical $25,100 level.

    Bitcoin price update: bulls eye new 2023 high

    Today’s rally comes on the back of decent gains though, and crypto analyst Mohit Sorout earlier pointed to what he calls “the mother of all bullish signals.” Just before BTC hit the new year-to-date highs, the analyst wrote:

    “The mother of all $btc bullish signals has flashed – DCA indicator. Historically, it has flashed only thrice in btc’s existence & each occurence led to massive rallies of 7400% (2015), 160% (2019) [and] 640% (2020). Today marks the 4th time this signal is suggesting a raging bullmarket.”

    PlanB, the creator of the stock-to-flow price model, shared the chart below showing Bitcoin’s rally on Thursday came as BTC price broke above the 200-week moving average.

    What could happen next for Bitcoin? Well, a retreat to support above $24k or lower to $22.5k is possible before a slow grind pushes it up again. But according to pseudonymous analyst Moustache, $28k is very much achievable.

    BTC spike sees $230 million in liquidations

    Bitcoin’s gains pushed its market capitalization to $526 billion, while a 7.9% jump in the total crypto market cap had the top altcoin Ethereum trading above $1,730 with double digit gains. Among the top ten cryptocurrencies, Polygon and OKB were also up more than 10%.

    As prices rallied, traders who’d bet on broader declines were caught unawares, with over $230 in shorts liquidated. Liquidation data showed Bitcoin-tracked futures led with over $99.6 million in liquidations while Ethereum saw more than $64 million in liquidations in 24 hours.

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