On Thursday, the cryptocurrency markets experienced a surge, with the price of bitcoin (BTC) surpassing the $27,000 mark. This increase was accompanied by a decrease in macro pressures. BTC reached a high of nearly $27,300 and was trading at $27,010 at the time of writing, representing a 3.2% gain over the past 24 hours.
The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI), which measures the performance of various cryptocurrencies, rose by 3.8%. The CoinDesk DeFi Index (DCF) led the way with a 5.5% gain. Tokens such as COMP, AAVE, MKR, and LDO also experienced notable increases in value.
Arbitrum’s ARB, a scaling network for Ethereum, saw a 9.6% rally, recovering from losses earlier in the month. This upward movement in the crypto market coincided with a modest rebound in U.S. stocks, a decrease in the 10-year Treasury yield, a retreat in oil prices, and a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar.
Ether (ETH) outperformed bitcoin, rising by 4.8% to $1,660. Investor optimism grew due to the possibility of a U.S. regulatory approval for a futures-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). Several companies, including VanEck, Grayscale, ProShares, and Bitwise, have submitted filings for ETH ETFs.
Crypto derivatives traders are preparing for the expiry of quarterly and monthly options on Friday. Approximately $4.8 billion worth of BTC and ETH options on Deribit, a major derivatives exchange, are set to expire. The open interest on Deribit suggests that option traders have no clear consensus on the short-term direction of BTC’s price.
According to Julius de Kempenaer, a senior technical analyst, BTC is currently ranging between $25,000 and $31,000. He believes that if BTC fails to break above the $31,000-$32,000 barrier within the next 6-8 weeks, it could face resistance and remain suppressed. However, if BTC decisively falls below $25,000, the next support level could be around $17,000-$18,000.
