Bitcoin has seen a downturn, slipping below $63,000 as the latest U.S. inflation figures did not generate the anticipated positive momentum, leading to the first instance of consecutive outflows from spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in August.
Back-to-back outflows from spot bitcoin ETFs were recorded for the first time since late July, coinciding with a drop in the largest cryptocurrency and uncertainty in altcoins.
According to SoSoValue, spot bitcoin ETFs experienced a significant outflow of $192 million, marking a trend not seen since late July. As a result, Bitcoin is currently trading at its lowest level since August 3, having reversed all gains from the previous week. As of the latest update, bitcoin is priced at BTC$62,797.42, reflecting a 1.14% decline since midnight UTC. Meanwhile, Ether ETH$1,876.02 has also dropped by 0.73% during the same period, although some altcoins have shown stronger resilience, outpacing the leading cryptocurrencies.
U.S. stock markets, however, rallied on Thursday following a report that producer price inflation cooled to 4.7%, which was lower than analysts' expectations. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both experienced gains as futures on these indices remained slightly positive.
Analysis of Derivatives Positioning
- Futures activity remains active: Despite the downward pressure on the crypto market, the long-short ratio for futures trading remains balanced, with long positions making up half of the activity. The volume growth over the past 24 hours has outstripped the growth of open interest significantly, indicating a churn rather than new positions.
- Bitcoin Cash sees increased shorting: Bitcoin Cash BCH$205.22 has emerged as the primary gainer in open interest over the past day, with a 10% increase to 1.64 million tokens, as its spot price fell by 3%. This suggests an increase in short positions, reinforced by negative annualized funding rates.
- Open interest for Bitcoin rises: Bitcoin also saw an increase in open interest, rising over 3% to reach 765,000 BTC, despite a negative cumulative volume delta (CVD). The annualized funding rates remain slightly positive.
- Hedera shows bearish trends: Among the top 25 cryptocurrencies, Hedera's 24-hour CVD is the most negative, with funding rates around -20%, indicating a bearish market sentiment.
- Bitcoin volatility declines: The 30-day implied volatility index for Bitcoin (BVIV) has decreased to below 36%, down from nearly 39% earlier this week, suggesting ongoing interest in strategies aimed at generating additional yield on spot holdings.
- Options trading remains varied: On Deribit, Bitcoin calls at the $70,000, $69,000, and $67,000 strikes are among the most traded, while Ethereum puts at the $1,700 and $1,780 strikes are more prominent.
Market Highlights
- Ether.fi (ETHFI) has been a notable performer in the last 24 hours, surging by 11.5% after introducing tokenized stocks and DeFi loans to its platform, although it later retraced by 3.3%.
- Cosmos ATOM$1.5558 also saw a significant rise, increasing by over 10% in 24 hours, with trading volume surging by 232% to $51 million despite the absence of specific news.
- Fetch.ai FET$0.1365 and Monero (XMR) have continued their positive performance, rising 0.55% and 0.81%, respectively, since midnight UTC.
- Conversely, NEAR, MORPHO, TAO, and JUP have all experienced declines of around 2% as cautious sentiment prevails across the crypto landscape.