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Bitcoin options tantalizing bears to push price below $30K before Friday’s expiry

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This week’s Bitcoin (BTC) options expiry on Friday, July 21, could solidify the $30,000 resistance level and give the bears the upper hand for the first time since the 21% rally between June 14 and June 21.

Bitcoin options expiries coincide with volatility

A review of Bitcoin’s recent price action shows that three out of the last four BTC options expiries triggered significant price movements, making it crucial for traders to pay close attention to these events.

Bitcoin/USD price index, 4-hour. Source: TradingView

Notably, Bitcoin’s price has consistently shown strong reactions following the weekly 8:00 am UTC options expiry. While causation cannot be established, the magnitude of these price swings warrants extreme caution leading up to the weekly expiry on July 21.

Bitcoin bears benefit from stricter regulations

While this week’s options expiry could give bears control of Bitcoin’s price in the short term, bulls have the potential advantage of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission reviewing spot exchange-traded fund proposals.

Although these proposals are still in the early stages of regulatory scrutiny, the slow progression could partially explain why the bears have managed to defend $31,000 multiple times since late June.

However, their best chance of keeping Bitcoin’s price below $30,000 lies in the worsening regulatory environment. On July 19, the global securities exchange Nasdaq suspended the launch of its cryptocurrency custodian solution due to a lack of regulatory clarity in the United States. This change of plans was justified by Nasdaq’s CEO, Adena Friedman.

Related: Bipartisan bill to regulate DeFi, crypto security risks introduced into US Senate

Furthermore, on July 14, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced the suspension of its staking services for clients in California, New Jersey, South Carolina and Wisconsin. This decision followed a June 6 lawsuit from the SEC that accused the exchange of operating as an unregistered security broker since 2019.

Bitcoin bulls’ overoptimism leads to a disappointing outcome

Bitcoin’s price briefly surpassed $31,000 on July 13 and July 14, fueling bullish bets by traders using options contracts. However, a four-hour correction brought the price back down to $30,000.

Deribit Bitcoin options aggregate open interest for July 21. Source: Deribit

The 0.39 put-to-call ratio reflects the difference in open interest between the $430 million call (buy) options and the $170 million put (sell) options. However, the outcome will be lower than the $600 million total open interest since the bulls were overconfident.

For example, if Bitcoin’s price trades at $30,500 at 8:00 am UTC on July 14, only $18 million worth of call options will be accounted for. This distinction arises from the fact that the right to purchase Bitcoin at $31,000 or $32,000 becomes invalid if BTC trades below those levels upon expiration.

Below are the three most likely scenarios based on the current price action. The number of options contracts available on July 21 for call (buy) and put (sell) instruments varies depending on the expiration price. The imbalance favoring each side constitutes the theoretical profit:

  • Between $28,000 and $30,000: 100 calls vs. 2,400 puts. The net result favors the put (sell) instruments by $70 million.
  • Between $30,000 and $31,000: 600 calls vs. 1,800 puts. The net result favors the put (sell) instruments by $35 million.
  • Between $31,000 and $32,000: 3,100 calls vs. 1,400 puts. The net result favors the call (buy) instruments by $55 million.

Considering the recent weak macroeconomic indicators, it’s likely that bears will continue suppressing Bitcoin’s price until Friday’s expiry. Moreover, China’s second-quarter gross domestic product grew by 6.3% year-on-year, falling short of the 7.3% market expectation. Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales in June increased by 0.2% from the previous month, below the 0.50% consensus.

Consequently, the bulls find themselves in a challenging position, as their call (buy) instruments will be invalidated if Bitcoin’s expiry price falls below $30,000. Therefore, the bears’ $35 million favorable outcome may not be a significant win, but it does increase the chances of $30,000 becoming a new resistance area. 

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Cryptocurrency

Ethereum Foundation, Whales, and Hackers: What’s Driving the ETH Sell-Off?

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TL;DR

  • Whales, hackers, and the Ethereum Foundation wallets moved over $500M in ETH through large sales and withdrawals.
  • Ethereum transfers rose to 4.6M ETH, nearing the monthly high of 5.2M recorded in July.
  • Staking inflows hit 247,900 ETH, the highest in a month, locking more supply from trading.

Large Withdrawals and Whale Activity

Ethereum (ETH) has seen heavy movement from major wallets over the past few days. On-chain data from Lookonchain shows a newly created wallet pulled 17,591 ETH, worth $81.62 million, from Kraken in just two hours. 

Over three days, two new wallets withdrew a combined 71,025 ETH, valued at $330 million, from the exchange.

One of these wallets, address 0x2A92, has withdrawn 53,434 ETH, worth $242.34 million, in two days. This includes a recent purchase of 30,069 ETH, valued at $138.46 million, during a market drop.

Major ETH Holders Offload Millions Amid Price Rally

In contrast, several separate entities have been disposing of some ETH holdings. A wallet tied to a hacker address 0x17E0 sold 4,958 ETH for $22.13 million at $4,463, securing a profit of $9.75 million. Earlier this year, the same address sold 12,282 ETH at $1,932 and later bought back part of the amount at higher prices.

A different whale sold 20,600 ETH for $96.55 million over the past two days, generating a profit of more than $26 million after holding the position for nine months. 

Meanwhile, an Ethereum Foundation-linked wallet, 0xF39d, sold 6,194 ETH worth $28.36 million in the last three days at an average price of $4,578. 

Recent sales from the same wallet included an additional 1,100 ETH and 1,695 ETH for over $12.7 million combined.

Network Activity on the Rise

CryptoQuant data shows Ethereum’s total tokens transferred have been climbing since August 9. After ranging between 1 million and 3 million ETH through late July and early August, transfers have risen to 4.6 million ETH, approaching the monthly high of 5.2 million recorded in mid-July. This increase has occurred alongside a price rally from about $3,400 to $4,600.

Ethereum (ETH) Tokens Transferred (Total)
Source: CryptoQuant

Interestingly, staking inflows generally stayed between 20,000 and 80,000 ETH per day over the past month. On August 14, inflows jumped to 247,900 ETH, the highest in the period. 

At the time, ETH was trading near $4,600. Large staking deposits reduce the amount of ETH available for immediate trading, as staked coins are locked for a set period.

Ethereum (ETH) Staking Inflow Total
Source: CryptoQuant

In the meantime, ETH trades at $4,647 with a 24-hour volume of $68.25 billion, down 2% on the day but up 19% over the week.

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Cryptocurrency

Massive DOGE Whale Activity Hints at $1 Breakout

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TL;DR

  • Whales bought two billion DOGE this week, lifting their combined holdings to 27.6 billion coins.
  • A single 900M DOGE transfer worth $208M to Binance drew attention to large exchange movements.
  • DOGE broke key resistance, with momentum building for a possible push toward the $1 price mark.

Price and Market Moves

Dogecoin (DOGE) traded at $0.23 at press time, slipping 4% over the past day but still showing a 2% gain for the week. Daily turnover came in at about $6.18 billion. 

Meanwhile, the broader crypto market saw over $1 billion in liquidations. Hotter-than-expected US Producer Price Index data pushed traders to scale back expectations of a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut. DOGE had roughly 290,500 coins liquidated during the sell-off.

On the two-week chart, analyst Trader Tardigrade notes that DOGE has cleared a downward-sloping resistance line after completing what appears to be a “wave V” in an Elliott Wave sequence. Similar setups in the past, where prolonged declines stayed within falling channels before breaking higher, have been followed by sharp rallies.

Momentum gauges are also turning up. The Stochastic RSI, which had dropped into oversold territory, is now heading higher. Previous reversals from this zone have coincided with sustained upward moves. The current formation points to a possible run that could carry DOGE past the $1 mark.

Heavy Whale Buying and Large Transfers

As reported by CryptoPotato, blockchain data shows large investors have added two billion DOGE in the past week, spending just under $500 million. That brings their holdings to about 27.6 billion coins, or 18% of the supply. The buying streak has prompted speculation within the community. 

Recently, Whale Alert flagged a 900 million DOGE transfer worth about $208 million into Binance. The tracking indicates that it originated from a wallet connected to the exchange, likely as an internal activity. The address involved holds 2.88 billion DOGE, one of the largest balances on the network.

Ali Martinez also reports that transactions above $1 million reached a one-month high, with activity building since early August and peaking as DOGE traded at $0.25.

Sentiment Building

Analyst Gordon described the current setup as “a nice bit of consolidation” before a potential breakout, adding, 

“This will be one of the first coins normies FLOCK to & the pump will be MASSIVE.”

With whale accumulation rising, high-value transfers increasing, and a bullish technical pattern in play, DOGE is positioned for a potential push toward $1 if momentum holds.

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Cryptocurrency

Ripple Price Analysis: XRP at Risk as Key Support Levels Could Trigger Sharp Drop

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XRP has recently entered a consolidation phase after a strong rally earlier this summer, with the price action now hovering around key resistance levels on both its USDT and BTC pairs. Yet, while momentum has slowed, the charts still indicate a generally bullish structure, with multiple key support levels remaining firmly in place.

Technical Analysis

By ShayanMarkets

The USDT Pair

On the XRP/USDT daily chart, the price is currently trading near the $3.10 mark, facing a strong resistance zone around $3.40. This follows a breakout above the $2.70 range in July, which has now flipped into a support area.

Both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages are also trending upward and recently formed a bullish crossover around $2.45, reinforcing the medium-term bullish sentiment. If the $3.40 resistance breaks, a push toward the critical $4.00 range becomes likely.

However, the RSI hovering near the neutral 50 level suggests a lack of strong momentum for now, meaning a short-term pullback into the $2.80 support zone is still possible.

This zone will be key for maintaining the bullish structure. Losing it could open the door for a deeper correction toward the 200-day moving average located around the $2.40 mark. Yet, as long as the price stays above the moving averages, the broader trend remains bullish.

The BTC Pair

Looking at the XRP/BTC chart, the pair has recently pulled back after hitting the 3,000 SAT resistance, with the price currently around 2,600 SAT.

This follows a clean breakout above the long-term descending channel and a successful retest of its upper boundary, which coincided with the 200-day moving average and the 2,400 SAT support zone. This confluence remains a key bullish technical factor, as holding above it could attract renewed buying pressure.

That said, RSI levels around 48 show that momentum has cooled after the sharp July rally, meaning XRP may continue ranging between 2,400 SAT and 3,000 SAT in the near term. A decisive close above 3,000 SAT would likely open the path to the 3,400 SAT zone, while losing 2,400 SAT could shift the bias back toward 2,000 SAT support. For now, the structure still favors the bulls as long as higher lows remain intact.

 

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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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