Posted:
- Derivatives traders tried to break out of the $37,000-$38,000 region.
- The OI in BTC futures on CME surpassed that of Binance in November.
Bitcoin [BTC] has regained its bullish strength over the past 24 hours, rising 2.47% to reach the $38,000 mark again, AMBCrypto learned with the help of CoinMarketCaps facts.
Profit-taking by weak hands brought the king coin back to $37,912 at the time of writing, but the chances of a breakout were increasing.
Bitcoin derivatives traders in action
The price increase was accompanied by a spike in speculative bets on the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Open interest (OI) in BTC futures and perpetual futures contracts rose 4.22% over the past 24 hours, according to Coinalyze data accessed by AMBCrypto.
Typically, an increase in Open Interest along with an increase in price indicates growing bullish sentiment. Popular on-chain analyst Maartun echoed similar thoughts in a post on
Speculative interest was not just limited to retailers. OI in BTC futures on global derivatives giant Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) rose nearly 21% in November, according to crypto market data provider CCData.
With the latest boom, CME surpassed Binance to become the largest Bitcoin futures exchange.
CME’s standard Bitcoin futures contract is worth five BTC and is a barometer of institutional interest in digital assets. Needless to say, the anticipation of a Bitcoin ETF approval catalyzed the growth.
Whales make a splash
The growing institutional interest was also reflected in the steady increase in the number of BTC whales. According to AMBCrypto’s examination of Glassnode data, addresses with coins worth at least $1,000 have risen 11% since the rally began in mid-October.
Whales, who typically trade large amounts of assets, exert a significant influence on price movements. The strong buying pressure was therefore a bullish driver for BTC.
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Whales’ optimism about BTC was also reflected in the long positions they took. According to Hyblock Capital’s Whale vs Retail Delta indicator, whales had higher lung exposure than retail investors at the time of writing.
In fact, AMBCrypto observed a similar pattern on most trading days since the rally began. This was a clear endorsement of Bitcoin by whales.