Bitcoin (BTC) Slumps After Bakkt Futures Launch

Published on 6:45 UTC Tuesday by Cryptovest Staff

BTC retreated to as low as $9,700 in a new bout of selling, just as the Bakkt futures exchange was wrapping up its first day of trading.

Bitcoin (BTC) once again could not defend the $10,000 level, spending the last day in a long slide. BTC traded at $9,775.70 as of 6:45 UTC on Tuesday. Trading volumes kept to their usual level at above $15 billion’s equivalent in 24 hours, as markets once again face uncertainty.

The BTC fear and greed index moved down a few notches into the “Fear” territory, where it has spent the time in the past weeks. BTC remains more or less directionless, depending on short-term sentiment.

Prominent trader Peter Brandt pointed that BTC may act against the high hopes for another rally to a yearly peak. He sees BTC as currently threatened by its descending triangle:

https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1175399813640282113

But others believe BTC is inherently unpredictable, defying the logic of market analysis.

https://twitter.com/JustinEttaputz/status/1175898030756782081

The launch of the Bakkt futures exchange had an underwhelming effect on the markets. By the end of the first day of trading, just 18 BTC had moved hands. The high-volume launch did not materialize, and Bakkt was clearly not the holder of $1 billion in BTC. During the first day, the price of BTC on the market also followed the general slump across all exchanges, settling the futures as a much lower price.

https://twitter.com/Bakkt/status/1176250435830763521

When it comes to expectations of institutional money, BTC is still lagging. The recently launched Van Eck fund, open to accredited investors, managed to sell only one lot of 4 BTC. At the same time, the BTC sentiment is still depending on crypto-to-crypto exchanges and the liquidity provided by Tether (USDT).

In addition to the price sinking, Bitcoin mining suddenly tanked by 20%, down to around 82 EH/s. It is possible that the lowered rate may be a move on the side of miners to tame the climbing difficulty at least temporarily. Even at the lower price range, BTC is still profitable for most miners.