Ethereum dominated among major coins Monday evening as the global cryptocurrency market cap rose 2.5% to $1.1 trillion at press time.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) | 2.5% | 2.1% | $23,792.67 |
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) | 4.6% | 8.8% | $1,777.91 |
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) | 1.7% | 2.15% | $0.07 |
Celsius (CEL) | +25.6% | $1.82 |
The Graph (GRT) | +16% | $0.15 |
Flow (FLOW) | +15.4% | $3.04 |
Why It Matters: The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap crossed the $1,800 level for the first time in two months on Monday. On an intraday basis, Ethereum was up 4.6%, while Bitcoin rose 2.45%.
Traders appear to be betting big with call options on Ethereum’s move to a proof-of-stake model, said on-chain analytics firm Glassnode on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR).
Glassnode noted that for the first time in history, Ethereum options open interest at $6.6 billion has surpassed that of Bitcoin open interest at $4.8 billion.
For the first time in history, $ETH Options Open Interest at $6.6B has surpassed $BTC Open Interest at $4.8B.This appears to be a result of traders betting big with call options the Merge scheduled for mid-September.
Read more in our latest analysishttps://t.co/hMma8TQtzw pic.twitter.com/dyOCgIcLpZ
— glassnode (@glassnode) August 8, 2022
#Ethereum has jumped above $1,800 for the first time in two months today. Powered by a steadily rising rate of unique addresses interacting on the $ETH network, continued recovery will depend on $BTC staying relatively stable, & mitigated trader #FOMO. https://t.co/3AA9doInbT pic.twitter.com/wskAzs4UBD— Santiment (@santimentfeed) August 8, 2022
Cryptocurrencies and stocks were aligned upwards at press time as investors await U.S. consumer price index data, set to be released on Wednesday.
“This week is all about inflation and many traders are expecting to see the inflation decelerate. Headline inflation is widely expected to decrease on a month-over-month basis. The focus will probably fall on core and those prices will remain elevated,” said Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at OANDA, in a note seen by Benzinga.
Bitcoin traders are on the lookout to see if the crypto winter has ended. Moya said, “The return of some meme stock mania is taking away some attention from cryptos, but that might not matter. The selling pressure has significantly eased and momentum traders could pounce on the break of the $25,000 level.”
Global liquidity growth is currently on the downtrend of the cycle, said Delphi Digital in a note. This is leading to less exuberant institutional investors in the cryptocurrency segment.
BTCUSD YoY% Vs Global M2 YoY% As On Aug. 2 — Source Bloomberg Via Delphi Digital
“The explosion in liquidity in the aftermath of COVID also led to a sharp rise in institutional inflows. Given today’s challenging macro backdrop, and the subsequent contraction in global liquidity, it’s no surprise institutional interest is a lot quieter now than it was 12 months prior,” said the independent research boutique.
Even so, cryptocurrencies are slowly beginning to see pockets of upwards movement. Michaël van de Poppe noted that while the apex coin faces resistance at the $24,300 mark, it could be headed to the $28,000 level if it clears it.
Avalanche (AVX) is accelerating and already nearing $30, according to the cryptocurrency trader.
Markets are slowly heating up as #altcoins are breaking left and right.� #Bitcoin facing crucial resistance at $24.3K. Breaking -> $28K next.
� #Avalanche accelerating and already touching $30.
� More #altcoins following suit.
� Summer relief rally.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) August 8, 2022
A little strange that #Bitcoin reclaimed this level on August 6, 2021.Here we are watching $BTC about to do it again on August 8, 2022.
This will either start an insane relief rally or a massive fakeout.
This week's inflation data will have something to say about it. https://t.co/CvvlsigaIg pic.twitter.com/ABS7WGWLbt
— Justin Bennett (@JustinBennettFX) August 8, 2022
Read Next: Bitcoin Breaks Bullishly From This Pattern: Here's What To Watch Next For The Crypto
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