Crypto traders are drawn to the market by its bombastic growth and lucrative opportunities to make a profit. However, not every investor is seeking volatility or using degenerate leverage levels to gamble at derivatives exchanges. In fact, stablecoins usually comprise half of the total value locked (TVL) on most decentralized finance (DeFi) applications that focus on yields. There's a reason why DeFi boomed despite Ethereum network median fees surpassing $10 in May. Institutional investors are desperately seeking fixed income returns as traditional finance seldomly offers yields above 5%. However, it is possible to earn up to 4% per month using …

Bitcoin (BTC) led the entire cryptocurrency market through a tumultuous period after the majority of the cryptoverse was painted red on May 19, a day now also referred to as “Black Wednesday.” BTC’s price fell below $40,000 for the first time since it blew past the resistance level on Feb. 9 on the back of the news of Tesla purchasing $1.5 billion worth of BTC while also announcing that it would begin accepting Bitcoin as a payment method. At the time of writing, BTC’s price has slightly rebounded to the $37,000 range, bouncing between the $36,000 and $40,000 marks and …

Price action for Bitcoin (BTC) and the wider cryptocurrency market was relatively subdued on May 27 as nervous traders remain unsure of what comes next following last week’s market plunge that saw leveraged traders wiped out as BTC dipped as low as $30,000 before its price rebounded. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that while Bitcoin's price has managed to put in higher highs and higher lows over the past week, bulls continue to face stiff resistance at any meaningful attempt to break above $40,000 as bears defend the psychologically important level. For many traders, the recent correction …

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 …

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 …

Ben Hunt, founder of Second Foundation Partners and lead author of the Epsilon Theory blog, is convinced institutional adoption poses an existential threat to Bitcoin's identity as an instrument of financial freedom. As investment funds, banks and tech companies continue getting involved in the space, Bitcoin's (BTC) fundamental properties — permissionless access and censorship resistance — are becoming increasingly marginalized, Hunt told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview. “What we are seeing is the Facebook-ization of Bitcoin. And it becomes absolutely controlled and in service to Wall Street and the government,” said Hunt. According to Hunt, institutions have created “securitized,” “permissioned” …

May 19's price crash in the Bitcoin (BTC) spot market wiped about $7.56 billion worth of long-leveraged positions from cryptocurrency derivatives markets. The event marked the biggest bullish leverage wipeout since March 2020. Retail and institutional investors borrowed from leading exchanges to amplify their potential returns. But a sudden reversal in Bitcoin spot rates, reportedly led by Elon Musk's anti-Bitcoin tweets over the weekend and fueled by China's reiteration of a ban on crypto transactions, blew up bulls' leverage ratios. That led to a so-called liquidity cascade in the derivatives market. In traditional markets, investors use cash as collateral to …

On May 21 at 8:00 AM UTC, $930 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) weekly options will expire. As usual, the leader Deribit holds a 90% share, but the recent market drop might have given bears too much power. While traders and analysts scramble to find a rationale for the 53% drop from the $64,900 all-time high, ExoAlpha CIO David Lifchitz perfectly described the recent market conditions when he said: “This looks like the final flush-out after the last couple of months of an irrational bull run, shitcoin frenzy and other antics.” The correction was so strong that even avid Bitcoin …