Cryptocurrency markets slide overnight, Bitcoin It was down 1.5% from the high hit early Wednesday morning.
The broader market followed suit. The CoinDesk 20 (CD20) is down 1.6% since midnight UTC, with all members of the index in the red.
Bitcoin sold off last week after failing to break above $94,700, extending a downward trend that began in early October and setting a series of lower highs.
To break the bearish trend and stage a recovery, the largest cryptocurrency would need to move back above $95,000 and ideally $98,000, although year-end catalysts remain absent.
However, much of the market is in “oversold” territory according to the Average Crypto Relative Strength Index (RSI), which stands at 38.49/100, indicating the possibility of a short-term relief rally.
Derivatives positioning
- BTC’s 30-day implied volatility, represented by Volmex’s BVIV, remains below 50% annualized, indicating calm markets ahead of Thursday’s U.S. inflation data and Friday’s Bank of Japan rate decision.
- BTC’s 90-day historical volatility is now in line with major tech stocks like Tesla and Nvidia, which is a sign of market maturity.
- BTC/USD long positions on Bitfinex hit their highest level since February.
- Futures Open Interest (OI) related to most coins including BTC and Ethereum dropped within 24 hours. BCH, UNI and NEAR performed well, and OI increased slightly.
- On Deribit, Bitcoin has put options at $85,000 and call options at $95,000 and $100,000, indicating expectations for widespread volatility in the near term.
- The block flow features straddles and risk reversals for Bitcoin and bullish calendar spreads for Ethereum.
- In general, BTC and ETH puts remain more expensive than calls, indicating continued downside concerns and call coverage.
token talk
- The altcoin market continues to show weakness relative to the Bitcoin trading pair, with Bitcoin’s dominance rising to 58.7% from 57.8% on November 26.
- ASTER and TAO are the two worst-performing altcoins in the top 100, down 6.5% and 6.1% respectively since midnight UTC.
- ASTER’s plunge continues a bearish trend since the opening of Monday’s weekly candle, with losses of more than 20% as the hype surrounding the BNB Chain derivatives exchange continues to subside.
- There are some bullish outliers in the altcoin market, including Monero Up 0.2% since midnight, Cardano’s privacy token NIGHT was up more than 5% in mid-morning in Europe.
- The “Altcoin Season” indicator stands at 19/100, as the market remains firmly focused on Bitcoin since October’s liquidations.
