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20 September, 2024

Bitcoin Surges Past $63,000: Will Whale Shorts Derail the Rally?

20 September, 2024

Bitcoin’s Bullish Breakout Faces Resistance: Are Whales About to Short the Market?

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a surge following the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cuts, with Bitcoin (BTC) hitting $63,670 on Thursday, marking a significant rally since late August. This upward momentum has captivated retail traders and institutional players, leading to diverse strategies in the market.

According to technical analyst InspoCrypto, the Binance BTC/USDT perpetual futures chart displays a strong upward trend, with Bitcoin breaking through key resistance levels near $60,000. The volume accompanying this price increase remains robust, suggesting solid support for the ongoing bullish movement. While the market currently exhibits bullish sentiment, InspoCrypto suggests potential resistance levels around $64,000 to $65,000.

Insights from Hyblock Capital’s heatmap reveal a noticeable discrepancy in positioning between large traders (whales) and retail investors. Retail traders have been accumulating long positions, particularly in the $62,500 to $63,500 range. However, whales have been building up short positions below $60,000, indicating cautious sentiment among institutional players despite the short-term optimism from retail investors.

InspoCrypto further points out that open interest in the futures market has been rising alongside the Bitcoin price, particularly in the $62,000 to $63,500 range, signaling growing confidence in the bullish trend. The current funding rate remains positive, suggesting that long positions are dominant, and traders are willing to pay a premium to maintain these positions. However, the analyst warns that a persistently high funding rate could trigger market corrections as traders rebalance their positions.

Volume continues to be a key indicator of market strength, supporting the bullish rally as it surpasses the $63,000 mark. The volume delta is positive, indicating more buying pressure than selling. Nevertheless, significant liquidation levels exist at $60,000 and $64,000, which could spark volatility if the market tests these price points.

InspoCrypto concludes that market sentiment is moderately bullish, rated at 7 out of 10. While retail traders appear confident and are predominantly taking long positions, the accumulation of shorts by whales signals a potential cautionary stance. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $63,300, marking its highest price since late August. This represents a 5% increase over the past 24 hours, coupled with gains of 8% and 12% over the past seven and fourteen days, respectively.

The question remains: Will whales trigger a market pullback with their short positions, or will Bitcoin continue its bullish trajectory? The market is likely to remain volatile in the short term as traders navigate these conflicting signals.