As Bitcoin price rises toward $18,000 and traders attempt to secure a new all-time high, the surge of institutional investors jumping on the Bitcoin (BTC) bandwagon continues. This time, institutional and retail investors are both keen to accumulate Bitcoin, and data from crypto derivatives markets shows institutional investors are driving Bitcoin volumes to new highs. According to research from Grayscale Investments, a digital asset management company that currently holds over $9.8 billion in assets under management, the coronavirus pandemic may be a primary driver of Bitcoin’s current rally. According to the company’s yearly survey, 83% of all Bitcoin investors started …

Bitcoin price is steamrolling toward $18,000, and excited traders are calling for the top-ranked digital asset to overtake the 2017 all-time high at $19,763. Unless you're a bear, reaching a new all-time high is great. But ideally, for a sustainable rally to maintain its pace, a staircase uptrend is more beneficial than a sudden upward climb. In recent weeks, BTC has continuously surged higher without prolonged consolidation periods or any major dips. The chances of a blow-off top is increasing A pseudonymous trader known as “Squeeze” specified that the lack of consolidation in Bitcoin has been a trend since late …

This week, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) prices reached new highs as a slew of bullish news continued to pump investors’ hope that the next crypto-bull market will mirror the one seen in 2017. Many novice traders simply follow spot prices on the major crypto exchanges to gauge the direction price might take. However, reviewing options markets data can provide additional relevant insights on market sentiment. Looking at the most recent activity in Bitcoin options, it is clear that some trades occurred on strikes that seemed improbable even for the most bullish analysts. These trades include 20 BTC CME December …

Data shows that institutions heavily accumulated Bitcoin in the $12,000–$15,000 range, and according to analysts at Whalemap, this is a positive trend because institutions and whales typically accumulate assets with a longer-term investment strategy in mind. The fact that larger hands are accumulating BTC instead of retail investors also explains the somewhat suppressed mainstream interest in Bitcoin, as Cointelegraph previously reported. Various metrics, including Google Trends, have shown lackluster mainstream demand for BTC despite its parabolic rally in recent months. Institutional "FOMO" makes the current BTC rally stronger than previous cycles Whalemap analysts described the recent spike in demand for …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been highly volatile in recent weeks, rallying above $16,000 for the first time in three years. But the futures market’s open interest indicates that a large volatility spike is likely very close. The term “open interest” refers to the total sum of contracts that are actively open in the futures market. If the open interest is high, it means there is a high number of traders betting on Bitcoin price action. Currently, as of Nov. 13, Bitazu Capital founding partner Mohit Sorout pointed out that the open interest of Bitcoin futures is at an all-time high. This …

Within the last hour, the Bitcoin (BTC) price surged through the $16,200 level to secure a new 2020 high at $16,473. The 6.62% move brings the top-ranked digital asset closer to closing a CME gap in the $16,465 to $16,570 zone and a growing number of analysts expect the price to break above the $17,200 level if the CME gap is closed. Despite the excitement surrounding Bitcoin’s surge to a new multi-year high, Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe pointed out that Bitcoin has rapidly ascended to new highs without establishing strong supports. Van de Poppe said: “Many levels beneath …

Bitcoin (BTC) has had a great November so far, and many analysts believe the future remains bright for the top-ranked cryptocurrency. Currently sitting at $16,000, its price has surged by 23% since the start of the month, rallying mostly after the completion of the United States presidential election. Now, Bitcoin spot volume has passed all previous records in 2020, showcasing the growing demand for acquiring BTC. The strong rally to $16,200 led Bitcoin spot volumes to rise by more than 270% in the past month. According to a recent report from Arcane research, the daily volume on Nov. 5 was …

On Nov. 13, a total of $525 million in Bitcoin (BTC) options open interest is set to expire. This is similar to last week when $470 million in options open interest also expired. This presents somewhat unusual activity, as most volume goes through monthly and quarterly options. On Nov. 5, put (sell) options open interest was 30% larger than call (buy) ones. Deribit exchange holds $431 million open interest for this Friday’s expiry and Bit.com has $72 million. Before coming to quick conclusions on whether this figure is bullish or bearish, it’s important to take a more detailed view in …

Historically, when a Bitcoin (BTC) monthly candle closes above previous candles, the digital asset has seen a prolonged rally. Atop this high time frame pattern, Bitcoin’s monthly candle in September closed above $13,000 for the first time since 2017. Furthermore, the dominant cryptocurrency has shown signs of a clear breakout throughout the past two months. Why Bitcoin may be at the cusp of a new rally In terms of the "BTC rally" narrative, the timing for a new Bitcoin rally makes sense. First, and perhaps most importantly, Bitcoin is currently in a post-halving cycle. Every four years, Bitcoin undergoes a …

As tempting as it can be to buy altcoins using perpetual futures, there are a few hidden traps that one should monitor closely. Over the past few years, numerous exchanges began to offer altcoin futures quoted in Tether (USDT) and stablecoin pairs, which eventually became the standard. This change is more convenient for most traders but still presents some serious issues for those willing to keep long positions open for more than a couple of weeks. Before opening any trade at an exchange offering perpetual futures, traders should be aware that stronger wicks can run stop losses, investors lose the …

As votes came in on the night of Nov. 3, the day of the U.S. presidential election, Bitcoin's (BTC) volume soared on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME. "Overnight, before 9:00am NYT over 6,700 Bitcoin futures contracts traded (33,500 equivalent Bitcoin), 75% more than what has been observed YTD [year-to-date] and more than double the volume observed since launch," a CME Group spokesperson told Cointelegraph on Wednesday. 6,700 BTC CME Bitcoin futures contracts traded between 5 PM CST on Nov. 3 and 8 AM CST on Nov. 4. CME Bitcoin futures trade 23 hours per day, between 5 pm and …

On Nov. 4, the open interest on Bitcoin options reached a new all-time high. As this occurred, an even more curious case emerged. On Nov. 6, a total of $470 million in open interest is set to expire. This is rather unusual, as usually, monthly and quarterly concentrate the liquidity. At the moment, Deribit holds 75% of the open interest, followed by Bit.com with 13%. Oddly enough, on both exchanges, put options represent 65% of the outstanding notional. This ratio is the exact opposite of the Bitcoin (BTC) options aggregate market for the remaining dates, which favors call options by …