Bitcoin pro traders buy the dips, while also anticipating further declines.

Main Receptors:

The Bitcoin cash rate is set at 7%, showing that bullish traders are still hesitant to increase their leveraged positions.

The spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $1.58 billion in outflows as gold hit record highs, signaling a shift to safer assets.

Bitcoin (BTC) has been pegged below $91,000 since Tuesday as equity markets rallied on strong US economic growth and employment data. As BTC struggles to find higher momentum, muted demand for long BTC positions has led traders to question whether the $88,000 support level could last longer.

Annual funding for Bitcoin perpetual futures stood at 7% on Thursday, with a typical neutral range of 6% to 12%. While this marks a recovery from Monday, as the index nears zero, significant bullish demand is still missing from the market.

Bitcoin whales are expected to continue to accumulate

The lack of optimism among Bitcoin traders stems in part from the strong 4.4% third quarter US GDP growth. A strong economy generally fuels earnings growth, providing a tailwind for the stock market. Continuous jobless claims for the week to January 10 fell by 26,000 to 1.85 million.

Despite this rapid conviction, there has not been a significant increase in demand for downside protection through BTC options.

According to data from Lavitas, the two most active BTC options strategies on Wednesday and Thursday were the long flat and long iron condors. Both strategies prioritize volatility over directional betting. This suggests that whales and market makers are expecting a period of price consolidation rather than the current deep correction of $89,500.

One needs to analyze the long-to-short ratio to determine whether professional traders are holding firm following the 11% weekly correction from the January 14 high of $97,900. This measure combines positions in futures, derivatives and margin markets to provide a broader view than a single contract.

Top traders on Binance increased bullish exposure on Thursday, with the long-to-short ratio rising to 2.18 from 2.08. Similarly, a top 20% of users on OKX raised long positions on Thursday despite Bitcoin failing to recover $90,000. This onchain data reinforces the view that traders remain neutral-to-bullies despite the current lack of appetite for highly leveraged plays.

Market focus is now shifting to corporate earnings. Several major companies will report next week, with Microsoft ( MSFT US ) and Tesla ( TSLA US ) on Wednesday, followed by Apple ( AAPL US ) and Visa ( V US ) on Thursday. Consumer sentiment will also be scrutinized when General Motors ( GM US ) and Starbucks ( SBUX US ) release reports on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Gold prices rose to an all-time high on Thursday as 10-year US Treasury yields neared a 20-week high. This gap is particularly likely to erode confidence in US fiscal health, and investors worry that more economic stimulus could cause inflation in the face of a widening US deficit.

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A rise in Treasury yields reflects lower consumer demand and higher borrowing costs for the government. The 10-year yield reached 4.25% on Thursday, up from 4.14% last week.

Ultimately, Bitcoin derivatives are showing resilience after a retest of $88,000, with little signs of bearish sentiment. However, the return to $95,000 is highly dependent on institutional earnings. This trend has yet to materialize following a net outflow of $1.58 billion from Bitcoin spot ETFs over the past two days.