Bitcoin Hovers Above $48,000 Ahead of Friday’s $2B Options Expiry

The global crypto market stabilised today at $2.06 trillion as of 9 am IST, with a marginal 0.1 per cent dip. This comes as Bitcoin (BTC) bounced off its $47,100 support to upwards of $49,000 before ending the day at $48,200. Total trade volumes across exchanges slipped by 4 per cent, reflecting a wait-and-watch approach among traders.

 

BTC recouped most of its losses this week with a 4 per cent candle to reach an intra-day high of $49,350. It is likely that BTC will continue to face resistance near the $49,000 region while its support levels are forming at $48,000 and $47,600. BTC trade volume was steady at $33 billion. BTC dominance as a share of total market cap went about 44 per cent today as traders preferred the largest cryptocurrency over altcoins.

 

Ethereum (ETH) bounced off its $3,080 support level before closing the day at $3,160, down by 1.5 per cent today. Traders expect volatility in its price movements ahead of its $800 million options expiry as bulls look for price levels above $3,200.

 

Among major altcoins, only Binance Coin (BNB) managed to gain marginally while the rest of the pack registered losses between 1-6 per cent, struggling to break away from the bearish sentiment prevailing in the broader market.

 

With $2 billion worth of BTC options expiring on Friday, bulls are expected to defend the $48,000 level and give a strong push to lift its price above $50,000. BTC, however, is expected to be range-bound within the $45-50,000 levels for the next couple of weeks with muted altcoin activity.

 

Top Gainers today:

1. Revain (REV): 22.2%
2. Tezos (XTZ): 15.6%
3. Decentraland (MANA): 6.7%

 

Top Losers today:

1. Avalanche (AVAX): -13.1%
2. Audius (AUDIO): -6.8%
3. Terra (LUNA): -5.3% 

 

The analysis includes the top 100 coins only as of 9 am IST

 

Source: CoinMarketCap

 

 

Crypto News at a Glance:

 

1. Citigroup, a US banking giant, has revealed its plan to begin trade of Bitcoin futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) as soon as it receives regulatory approval.
2. eToro, a retail trading app, has reported that cryptocurrencies contributed to 73 per cent of its trade commissions in Q2 2021 up from 7 per cent a year ago.
3. HODL Assets, a nonfungible token (NFT) aggregator platform, has announced the acquisition of blockchain-based social network and commerce platform CoinLinked to upscale its presence in the NFT space.
4. U.S. crypto exchange Kraken and a group of five DeFi projects have donated $250,000 each to the Ethereum Foundation to support open-source developer teams working on the Ethereum (ETH) 2.0 upgrade.
5. According to OpenSea marketplace records, liquor company Budweiser purchased a Budweiser-branded rocketship NFT for 8 ETH. The company had bought the Beer.eth domain earlier this month.

 

 

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