GBTC next BTC price black swan? — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

2 years ago

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a caller week inactive replaying November 2020 aft its lowest play adjacent successful 2 years.

The largest cryptocurrency, conscionable similar the remainder of the crypto industry, remains highly susceptible to downside hazard arsenic it continues to woody with the fallout from the implosion of speech FTX.

Contagion is the satellite connected everyone’s lips arsenic November grinds connected — conscionable similar the Terra LUNA illness earlier this year, fears are that caller victims of FTX’s elephantine liquidity vortex volition proceed to surface.

The stakes are decidedly precocious — the archetypal daze whitethorn beryllium over, but the consequences are lone conscionable opening to surface.

These see issues beyond conscionable fiscal losses, arsenic lawmakers effort to grapple with FTX and spot renewed accent connected urgent Bitcoin and crypto regulation.

With that, it is nary wonderment that terms enactment crossed cryptoassets is anemic astatine champion — and determination are plentifulness of voices arguing that the worst is inactive to come.

Cointelegraph takes a look astatine immoderate of the large factors to carnivore caput this week erstwhile it comes to BTC terms performance.

FTX contagion turns to GBTC

As clouds swirl implicit the destiny of FTX’s executives and ex-CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, commentators and crypto investors alike are wondering wherever contagion volition onslaught next.

Sentiment suggests that everyone is expecting the worst. A lawsuit successful constituent comes successful the signifier of Genesis Trading, portion of the Digital Currency Group (DCG) conglomerate, which last week halted payouts astatine its crypto lending arm.

This not lone acceptable disconnected a drawstring of rumors implicit Genesis’ solvency, but besides implicit DCG’s future. Reassurances from executives person failed to stem the narrative, which has besides focused connected the largest organization Bitcoin concern vehicle, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

Thus, implicit the weekend, a increasing statement implicit GBTC mushroomed into a afloat blown panic implicit fiscal buoyancy.

As Cointelegraph reported, this was made worse by Grayscale refusing to supply code details to beryllium its BTC reserves, allegedly for reasons related to security.

Suspicions implicit a $1 cardinal owed by DCG to Genesis adhd to the melting cookware of misgivings.

At the aforesaid time, immoderate well-known investors person added to their GBTC positions successful caller weeks.

“Is the adjacent achromatic swan GBTC already astir the corner?” trading assets Stockmoney Lizards frankincense queried connected Twitter.

“GBTC holds ~648k BTC.Grayscale discount disconnected to a grounds 43% arsenic FTX spreads large uncertainty.Lots of hysteria successful the marketplace and everyone is looking for the 10k Bitcoin reason. Keep calm, carnivore markets extremity successful the winter!”

Further contention is focused connected GBTC’s discount to the Bitcoin spot price, which is present astir astatine 50% for the archetypal clip ever.

GBTC premium vs. plus holdings vs. BTC/USD chart. Source: Coinglass

Arthur Hayes, erstwhile CEO of speech BitMEX, adjacent flagged a blog post from July which ventured that DCG had worked with defunct trading steadfast Three Arrows Capital (3AC) to “extract worth from the GBTC premium.”

Having vouched for Grayscale’s legitimacy past week, Coinbase was the imaginable people for Timothy Peterson, concern manager astatine Cane Island Alternative Advisors.

“To each questioning $GBTC Grayscale holdings: Why not abbreviated $COIN @coinbase ?” helium ventured connected Twitter.

“They are the custodian & they would beryllium the ones committing fraud. COIN is 10x the size of GBTC; banal would spell to 0 and execs would spell to prison. You would beryllium affluent and spell connected vacation.”

Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, meantime placed the blasted for GBTC’s concern — and FTX — firmly astatine the doorway of United States regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“By failing to make an ETF for bitcoin, the SEC: - allowed the grayscale -> GBTC commercialized to rip retail for 5+yrs - created the GBTC antagonistic premium - forced astir crypto trading extracurricular US jurisdiction - fto FTX's fraud deed millions of Americans it shouldn't have,” helium summarized successful portion of a Twitter discussion.

In related FTX developments, hacked funds from the speech are connected the move, with tens of thousands of Ether (ETH) converted to BTC this weekend.

Downside hazard successful numbers

Bitcoin is understandably betwixt a stone and a hard spot nether the existent circumstances.

BTC/USD has failed to drawback a interruption since FTX blew up, investigating levels not seen successful 2 years and fielding increasing calls for further capitulation.

The question for traders and analysts is however acold that capitulation could go.

As Cointelegraph reported, targets see $13,500, $12,000 and adjacent as debased arsenic $10,000 oregon little this winter.

The concern was not helped by the latest play close, Bitcoin’s weakest since November 2020 astatine astir $16,250, with caller losses appearing since, information from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows.

BTC/USD 1-week candle illustration (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

“Volume decreasing. Bollinger Bands squeezing connected galore clip frames. Something has to give,” expert Matthew Hyland warned earlier the close.

A look astatine volatility connected the regular illustration showed Bollinger Bands expanding with terms investigating the little set astatine the clip of penning connected Nov. 21 — a proposition that little levels amid accrued volatility are to come.

BTC/USD 1-day candle illustration (Bitstamp) with Bollinger bands. Source: TradingView

Short-term upside targets nevertheless included a instrumentality to the latest CME Bitcoin futures spread astatine astir $16,500.

Fellow trader and expert Crypto Tony likewise called for restraint implicit bearish sentiment connected BTC/USD contempt the brace trading beneath $16,000.

“Looking for a adjacent beneath the scope lows earlier one commencement getting excited to short,” helium told Twitter followers connected the day.

“Right present we are inactive successful the aforesaid vessel arsenic the past fewer days really .... Patience.”
BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Crypto Tony/ Twitter

Aksel Kibar meantime took a much blimpish outlook, informing that past whitethorn beryllium owed to repetition itself successful the signifier of Bitcoin repeating losses from earlier successful the year.

One of 2 charts uploaded to Twitter connected the time helium described arsenic a “Reminder connected the latest consolidation and the anticipation of it becoming a bearish continuation illustration pattern.”

Kibar had antecedently argued that “the longer terms remains beneath 18K the higher the chances” of a instrumentality to $13,000.

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Aksel Kibar/ Twitter

Retreating ostentation passes Bitcoin by

While ostentation has been the large taxable of treatment for anyone progressive successful hazard assets successful 2022, for crypto, the contented has taken a backmost seat.

FTX and its contagion has pressured terms show much acutely than the year’s macro triggers connected abbreviated timeframes, but down the scenes the planetary economical representation is providing absorbing signals.

Inflation successful the U.S. was already seen to beryllium retracing, but caller figures from Europe suggest that the Eurozone’s biggest economy, Germany, is present pursuing suit.

Producer Price Index (PPI) information released connected Nov. 21 came successful beneath expectations and adjacent went into retreat, becoming antagonistic alternatively than increasing further.

"Compared with September 2022, shaper prices decreased by 4.2% successful October 2022. This was the archetypal month-on-month alteration since May 2020 (–0.4% connected April 2020)," an authoritative press release stated.

German Producer Price Index (PPI) chart. Source: Federal Statistical Office (Destatis)

Should the ostentation representation alteration dramatically for the better, the chances of a hazard plus rebound should summation successful step. The U.S. dollar meantime continues to struggle, with anterior twenty-year highs inactive firmly retired of reach.

For fashionable analytics assets Game of Trades, it is “game over” for the U.S. dollar scale (DXY), which broke done its 100-day moving mean for the archetypal clip since April 2021.

U.S. dollar scale (DXY) 1-day candle illustration with 100 MA. Source: TradingView

New trouble all-time precocious arsenic miner income cool

Even all-time highs, alternatively than lows, are having occupation gaining acceptance among Bitcoiners successful the existent climate.

Under the hood, Bitcoin has been engaged expanding its web information — but misgivings astir the numbers persist.

At the latest automated readjustment connected Nov. 20, Bitcoin web difficulty accrued by 0.51% to deed a caller grounds high.

Bitcoin web fundamentals overview (screenshot). Source: BTC.com

Mining trouble is simply a reflection of the contention among miners. Currently, the metric is rising contempt BTC terms enactment falling, which successful crook suggests that immoderate entities are deploying much hashing powerfulness to the web and are capable to place decreasing nett margins.

For little resilient, however, “capitulation” could ensue, immoderate warn. Reacting to the caller trouble high, Colin Talks Crypto called it the “perfect storm” for miner upheaval.

“Only the strongest volition past this utmost pressure,” helium added.

Despite this, miners person been selling little comparative to their one-year mean successful caller days, indicating a imaginable simplification successful contiguous request to trim reserves.

Data from on-chain analytics level CryptoQuant’s Miner Position Index (MPI) shows a spike from aft FTX present reverting to the norm.

Bitcoin Miner Position Index (MPI) chart. Source: CryptoQuant

Timing the bottom

Those astir during the past crypto carnivore marketplace are buckling up for a agelong and drawn-out instrumentality to glory.

Related: Bitcoin sees grounds Stock-to-Flow miss — BTC terms exemplary creator brushes disconnected FTX ‘blip’

BTC/USD is present a suitable fig of weeks past its latest all-time precocious to enactment successful a caller macro low, fashionable Twitter relationship Moustache shows.

At 30 months, clip is successful information up for that lawsuit to hap compared to some 2018 and 2014.

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Moustache/ Twitter

Moustache additionally flagged Bitcoin’s MVRV-Z people indicator, 1 which is present approaching levels synonymous with each macro bottom.

“Everyone is wondering wherever the Bitcoin bottommost mightiness be. The MVRV Z-Score has ever proven to beryllium precise close successful the past and could reply this question,” helium wrote alongside a screenshot of the MVRV-Z Score chart.

“Whenever the Z-Score fell retired of the greenish channel, the bottommost was successful for $BTC. We're precise close.”
BTC/USD MVRV-Z Score annotated chart. Source: Moustache/ Twitter

Comparing timeframes from 4 years ago, erstwhile BTC/USD bottomed astatine $3,100 successful December 2018, chap relationship Bleeding Crypto meantime said that terms enactment is nevertheless lone conscionable opening its bottoming process.

“Did you cognize that it took 5 weeks to yet deed the bottommost erstwhile we started to capitulate successful 2018?” helium revealed.

“Then it took 4 period of BORING PA earlier we saw the archetypal God candle. We hardly started week 2 today. This is simply a marathon, not a sprint. Get comfortable, it’ll beryllium a while.”
BTC/USD 1-week candle illustration (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

The views and opinions expressed present are solely those of the writer and bash not needfully bespeak the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every concern and trading determination involves risk, you should behaviour your ain probe erstwhile making a decision.

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