Bullish Sentiment Grows in Crypto Market
The latest K33 Research report indicates that there is a growing bullish sentiment in the crypto market. Bitcoin has been trading within the $34,000 to $36,000 range over the past two weeks, leading to a decrease in its market dominance from 53.1% to 51.5%. This decline has been attributed to non-ether altcoins outperforming the leading digital asset, as noted by K33 Research Senior Analyst Vetle Lunde and Vice President Anders Helseth.
During this period, solana saw a 41% gain, driven by the Breakpoint conference in Amsterdam and the highly anticipated Firedancer upgrade. Despite this impressive market movement, some analysts believe that solana’s performance is merely a price recovery following last year’s dramatic drop in value after FTX collapsed.
CME Traders Increase Bitcoin Exposure
Traders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) are adding more upside exposure to bitcoin, with open interest on the CME reaching new highs at 105,000 BTC ($3.7 billion). Futures-based ETFs also experienced significant weekly inflows, with ProShares’ BITO seeing its third strongest weekly bitcoin inflow since November 2021. Front-month premiums for both bitcoin and ether have climbed over the past week, sitting at 16% annualized.
December expiries are currently trading at a 1% premium to November, and bitcoin and ether CME premiums remained on par for the second week running. Additionally, the high demand for calls has increased the cost of bullish bitcoin exposure via the options market, with implied volatility remaining below its three-year average.
Crypto Natives Shift Sentiment
Offshore perpetual swap funding rates have remained neutral since bitcoin’s rally to $35,000, indicating a shift from previously bearish sentiment among crypto traders. Stability in open interest also signals collective wariness of over-leverage among traders. The trading landscape has been dominated by reactions to news, especially spot bitcoin ETFs.
Hot Take: Optimism Rises Amidst Altcoin Rotation
The latest K33 Research report suggests that optimism is rising in the crypto market due to altcoin rotation and improvements in bitcoin and ether outlooks. Traders are increasingly adding upside exposure to bitcoin on the CME while altcoins like solana outperform the leading digital asset. The shift from bearish sentiment to hesitant reflects a changing landscape in crypto trading.