Bitcoin today has seen profit taking prevail, due to the rise in prices that has characterized the asset in recent days.
But let’s go in order.
The volatility, already high in the first hours of this Monday, has seen a strong bullish impulse, dragged by the news of Pfizer that together with BioNTech would be about to launch a vaccine against Covid-19, 90% effective.
The news has propelled the world’s financial stock indices with strong rises that in the United States and for major European stock indices see increases of more than 6%.
Bitcoin also benefited from this generalized euphoria. In the last few hours, it has seen a strong leap that in just a few minutes has marked a rise of about $400, going close to the records set last week, at $15,900.
From there profit taking has prevailed, bringing Bitcoin’s price back to $15,400, to then see more profit taking that is bringing prices down to $15,300, meanwhile stock markets remain euphoric.
By contrast, gold is registering a strong plunge of more than 3%, which cancels out much of the rise it had achieved last week.
Since last week, Bitcoin has seen the volatility index rise again to 2.8 points, a daily level on a monthly basis that it had not recorded since the first days of October.
Futures and derivatives trading
Last week also saw a record number of exchanges on futures platforms, resulting in a total aggregate volume of over 187 billion traded during the week, the highest volume ever and dating back to the last week of July.
This is largely due to the CME’s institutional platform, which is the second most widely used platform, behind only OKEx.
Also for options derivatives, last week the highest ever open interest was set at $3.7 billion.
For options, trading during the past week and yesterday reached the highest volume ever at $2.8 billion.
This is a very intense trading volume.
On Thursday, even on the spot market, volumes were among the 10 most traded days ever.
Crypto market today
The day sees a prevalence of positive signs with about 70% in green.
On a weekly basis, double-digit increases are again prevalent. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) gain more than 16%, as does Chainlink (LINK). Litecoin (LTC) and Cardano (ADA) are also among the big names, +10%.
XRP is also doing well, although with a less intense increase at a general level. Today, it is the only one of the top 15, together with Cardano, to move under parity.
Volumes have contracted slightly by about 10% in the last 24 hours, but with a total of over 135 billion dollars.
Bitcoin (BTC): profit taking after the rises
In the last few hours, Bitcoin is back to attacking the $15,900 threshold that last week, and precisely last Friday saw a clear prevalence of profit taking and sales that pushed prices below $14,500 over the weekend. From here prevailed the purchases that have led in recent hours to review the $15,900 area.
It is important, as the week goes on, to break this level or a dangerous double maximum would occur precisely on 15,900 dollars.
Professional options traders see this level as the next before $16,100, the first level where upward hedging strategies begin.
Ethereum (ETH)
Unlike Bitcoin, the price movements of Ethereum remained above the former $425 resistance. Today it moves between 450 and 460 dollars but is not affected by the news about the possible anti-Covid vaccine.
It is important to keep the $460 and then to be able to attack the previous high at the beginning of September at $480-490. Downwards it is important not to go below $425 first and later under the area of the famous dynamic support that joins the minimums since last March, passing in the $355-360 area where there is a strenuous defence of the options hedges.
