CME Bitcoin Futures OI Hits Record $6.8B, BTC Price Drops By $52K
Bitcoin (BTC) returned to the mid-day trading range of the February 18 weekly close as bulls took advantage of the weekend trade.
Trader: Bitcoin Rally “Healthy” Despite OI Increase
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed $52,000 acting as a focal point for BTC price consolidation.
The largest cryptocurrency fell to $50,680 a day earlier on Bitstamp, marking its lowest level in several days.
A quick recovery rallied to nearly $1,500 in the following hours, however, and as of this writing, the lows have not seen a fresh retest.
Analyzing the week's action, the popular Trader Skew revealed a shift in trader behavior midway through the Wall Street trading week.
Spot buying, he noted, has declined into the weekend, “since then largely driven by drivers and shake-up wins.”
“So far seeing some spot buyers leading binance spot back here,” he wrote on the day.
Continuing the $BTC market thread, we can see the price differences from @_WOO_X using $BTC Cumulative CVDs and Delta CVD which I've marked as red circles here (limits selling at price)
There was a flow reversal on LTF around 15-16 which… pic.twitter.com/mJLgKJnPst
— Skew Δ (@52kskew) February 18, 2024
Meanwhile, rising open interest (OI) on CME Group's Bitcoin futures markets hit a record $6.8 billion, indicating future volatility, according to data monitored by CoinGlass.
Discussing open interest at length, however, prominent trader Daan CryptoTrades pointed out the difference when this is expressed in BTC.
“This +100% rally from October was healthy in terms of utilization,” he argued.
“The fund has maintained a largely neutral stance and open interest is low in $BTC. The value of the USD has of course increased during this period as the underlying asset (BTC) has increased in value.
Key BTC price weekly close levels emerge
Next, Skew bulls need to maintain the upward momentum on the Bitcoin Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the 4-hour time frames towards the weekly close.
Related: Bitcoin is now at or near an all-time high among these 5 fiat currencies.
The 21-time exponential moving average (EMA), currently at $51,500, was also important.
“The spot flows around $52k to $53k, the popular spot selling into bounces, which is usually at a profit,” he explained on Binance.
“The key with this current trend is to see enough spot demand on the dips, which is usually seen as absorption at the lows where the buying limit is greater than the bearish selling.”
#BTC weekly close above $49K is bullish.
Close below and $44k comes into play to start, simple as that pic.twitter.com/sL0HOh1giX
— Matthew Hyland (@MatthewHyland_) February 17, 2024
Associate trader and analyst Matthew Hyland described $49,000 as the last line in the sand.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
