Bitcoin’s climb to $28K nudges ETF speculators amid spot exposure hunt

Bitcoin rose above $28,000 amid speculation about the approval of spot ETFs and the long-term trajectory of the market

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Wit Olszewski/Shutterstock modifed by Blockworks

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Bitcoin snapped off a run over the weekend, driving its price to a one-month high as speculation about crypto-tied ETFs on Monday remained relatively muted.

The asset rose 3.8% to just under $28,000 in Monday’s trade before succumbing to a slight sell-off just below its 200-day moving average. Bitcoin is trading at $27,580, Blockworks data shows.

Futures data shows more than $12 million short liquidation losses took place across OKX and Binance following a rise in the underlying asset’s jump to $28,000. Implied volatility for bitcoin options contracts is hovering at 36.4% while the historical volatility value is roughly 27%, Bitfinex noted in its report on Monday. 

“Historically, a positive September ushers in a bullish October and the volatility as well as the futures market metrics all point towards increased volatility and some upside, at least on the higher time frames,” Bitfinex analysts said.

The month’s positive end preceded a number of ether (ETH) futures ETFs that went live Monday. Yet despite initial optimism, those vehicles performed modestly out of the gate.

On-chain metrics show miners continue to accrue bitcoin. Glassnode data indicates that the seven-day moving average for the flow of bitcoin (BTC) from miners to exchanges has hit a one-month low of 4.251 BTC — a level not seen since the beginning of September.

The amount of supply last active in the last three to five years has also reached a one-month high of more than 2.1 million BTC.

Conversely, ETH’s seven-day moving average for the flow of ETH moving to exchanges cemented its own one-month high above $14.2 million. 

While the debut of ether futures ETFs in the US was fairly uneventful on day one, one analyst predicted the launches could spur further adoption of the digital asset. 

“VanEck’s decision to launch a futures ETF while promising to donate 10% of the ETF’s profits to Ethereum developers embodies the firm’s trust in the asset’s rise into mainstream consciousness,” Jesper Johansen, CEO at Northstake said.

“The move also funds and accelerates the protocol’s development, ultimately making ETH more accessible for institutions and individuals looking to participate in the ecosystem,” he said.


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