Bitcoin’s move above $30K represents a ‘shift in sentiment,’ analysts say

A clear sentiment shift is taking hold, Blockworks was told, with increasingly bullish sentiment following in the wake of the fake ETF announcement last week

article-image

Thongden Studio/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

On-chain metrics are flashing signs of resiliency for the world’s largest digital asset, bitcoin (BTC), as individuals continue to hold onto their coins in the face of broader market uncertainty.

The asset is into its fifth consecutive daily win, setting a fresh three-month high above $30,900, Blockworks data shows.

Total open interest for bitcoin options contracts across Bybit, Binance, OKX and Deribit has reached levels not seen for more than two months, at just over $6.46 billion.

Liquidations for BTC futures jumped to a total of $31.5 million on Sunday, CoinGlass data shows. Even still, activity has remained relatively uneventful compared to last week’s Oct. 16’s $100 million wipeout on the false approval announcement of a US spot bitcoin ETF.

“While the ETF news was proven to be fake, there has been a clear shift in sentiment from ‘if’ to ‘when’ in terms of whether the SEC will approve any applications in the next few months,” Berkeley Cox, derivatives analyst at Zerocap told Blockworks.

This shift was further echoed in the options market on Sunday, where the 25 delta skew has tilted towards bullish territory, a position not observed since January’s surge, Cox noted.

Given the continued rise in front-end implied volatility (IV), long calendar options strategies may become increasingly appealing. Market participants are focusing on the prospect of ETF approval — or at the very least, a spike in volatility — by late December to early January, Cox said.

According to CryptoQuant’s Exchange Depositing Transactions for BTC, based on a seven-day moving average, total deposits to centralized platforms have fallen to their lowest levels since May 21, at just above 34,600 BTC.

The analytics firm believes a higher value indicates more individuals are willing to sell to the spot market while conversely, a dip lower indicates users are holding onto their coins and are expecting a future price rise.

“There seems to be no eminent selling pressure from long-term holders despite the $30,000 price tag,” a spokesperson for CryptoQuant told Blockworks.

Loading Tweet..

Meanwhile, declining active addresses can point to participants seeking to hold onto the asset rather than utilize it as a medium of exchange or transfer it to exchanges during periods of profit-taking, Blockworks was previously told.

The total number of active addresses when viewed over a seven-day average has dipped to the lowest point Since Dec. 28, data shows.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

Silk Road founder Ulbricht made a triumphant return to the Bitcoin Conference, 10 years on from sentencing

article-image

A Blockworks Research report looked at who could take up some of the marketshare in the launchpad space

article-image

Business-to-business stablecoin payments are on the rise, per a report from Artemis, Dragonfly and Castle Island

article-image

Crypto continues to do its thing: incentivizing behavior

article-image

Kraken will soon offer Backed ‘xStocks’ as Solana tokens

article-image

In a unanimous decision, the US Court of International Trade has ruled that Trump’s IEEPA tariffs are unlawful