Market: Bitcoin hovers around $ 27,000, while the ETH / BTC pair is up

Bitcoin was mostly traded in a narrow, low-volume range on Monday, while some bitcoin profits for ether are appearing on the ETH / BTC charts.

Bitcoin’s price stagnated on Monday, trading at a range of $ 27,000 to $ 27,200 for many hours, according to data from CoinDesk 20. The lack of movement comes after a Sunday when bitcoin hit the biggest historical record of $ 28,352, due to a bull run that started on December 25th.

A little rest is normal, according to over-the-counter trader Alessandro Andreotti. “I think it’s just a small setback, a short break after a week of historic records,” Andreotti told CoinDesk. “BTC is definitely still in bullish territory.”

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After Sunday’s run, which saw more than $ 4 billion in volume on major CoinDesk 20 exchanges, Monday’s spot trading count is much lower, at $ 1.8 billion at press time. “Given the speed of the high yesterday, especially after the high in the last few days, a slight contraction is normal,” said David Lifchitz, investment director at quant trading firm ExoAlpha.

“Bitcoin continues on its strong upward trajectory, with more retail investors now adopting bitcoin over the holidays,” noted Jason Lau, chief operating officer at the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin. However, spot volume may not be a trend next year, according to Lau. “Like [U.S. economic] stimulus package being signed, bitcoin’s appeal as a store of value may continue into 2021 ”.

In the derivatives space, futures settlements helped fuel the recent bitcoin price race. This is evident in the number of settlements – the equivalent of a margin call in traditional markets – in BitMEX. In the past three days, there have been more than $ 116 million in settlements, with short sales being favored when purchase settlements have reached $ 65 million.

“At this stage, there is a clear shortage of sellers, as all leveraged short positions are liquidated,” the cash trading firm QCP Capital wrote in its note to investors on Monday. “The bull’s story remains clear: the growing institutional adoption of BTC is driving up prices and fueling the retail FOMO, which then spans across cryptography.”

Other analysts agree with QCP that the rising price of bitcoin is allowing other cryptocurrencies, especially ether, to start receiving more attention. “I think the BTC price slowdown is giving breath to the altcoin season,” said Misha Alefirenko, founder of the crypto market maker VelvetFormula. The ether futures market is rising again after a record $ 2.2 billion in open interest lost some breath after December 19.

However, the news that CME is going to enter the ether futures game is a positive sign for the continued institutional interest in cryptography, according to Lau of OKCoin.

“Ethereum maintained its upward trend alongside bitcoin, reaching its highest levels since May 2018,” said Lau. The CME Ethereum futures offer in February “could have a big impact by exposing [ether] for more institutional investors. “

Ether (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, rose on Monday, trading around $ 732 and rising 8% in 24 hours, starting at 21:00 UTC (16:00 ET).

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The ETH / BTC trading pair, a common offer on most exchanges, was suddenly up on Monday after a long bearish cycle. This pair indicates the strength of ether versus bitcoin. The bullish sign on the hourly chart, including an increase in Coinbase volume, suggests that traders are selling bitcoin per ether.

Part of making bitcoin profits for ether is the main culprit, according to Vishal Shah, an options broker and founder of the Alpha5 derivatives site. “I think it’s the side effects of BTC exhaustion,” Shah told CoinDesk. He also added that hardcore crypto traders are likely to make more gains in this bullish cycle, pushing up the hourly ETH / BTC chart. “This whole rally was born out of bitcoin, so [its] difficult to see him simply change gears. And if that happens, you are probably not the same type of investor. “

The digital assets in CoinDesk 20 are mostly green on Monday. Notable winners from 21:00 UTC (16:00 ET):

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