Institutional investors are giving up on the Bitcoin (BTC) market says JPMorgan Chase & Co., which may put us into even more of a bear market.
According to Bloomberg, this news comes via a research note from December 14th in which analysts assert that “participation by financial institutions in Bitcoin trading appears to be fading. Key flow metrics have downshifted dramatically.” This change in quality is also affecting the futures market alongside average volumes.
A Change of The Times
When compared to this time last year, when the crypto market was at an all-time high regarding volume and price, we are now in the exact opposite place. Back then, we saw the introduction of Bitcoin futures, an average daily transaction size of $5,000, and a peak value of $19,511 for the first digital asset. Now, interest on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Global Market is at its lowest point in the past year, average BTC trades are at $160, and its overall value has dropped over 80 percent as of this writing, according to reports from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and BitInfoCharts.com.
JPMorgan’s statement continues, reading that “other cryptocurrencies continue to suffer disproportionately during this correction phase.” This is true, as many assets including Ethereum and Ripple seem to follow Bitcoin’s overall trend. That said, this might not be the case forever. As technology advances and new blockchain use cases show themselves, we may eventually see these projects overtake BTC in popularity.
But some of Bloomberg’s employees disagree with the sentiment. Mike McGlone from Bloomberg Intelligence claims that Bitcoin’s price drop is actually thanks to “increased interest.” McGlone states that the “the sheer number of combined contracts” from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and CBOE are “set to end the year at an all time high.”
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Lacking Support
That said, the bear market has resulted in fewer Bitcoin miners thanks to a lack of profit. This is an issue, as the blockchain needs miners to verify transactions. On top of this, according to Blockchain.com, the BTC hash rate has dropped over the past two months. “This suggests that prices have declined to a point where mining is becoming uneconomical for some miners, who have responded by turning their mining rigs off,” says JPMorgan.
However, not all is bad within the market. On the one-year anniversary of Bitcoin hitting $19,511, the asset price rose 1.1 percent, while it jumped 11 percent earlier this week. McGlone commented on the adjustment, stating that “sharp rallies should [sic] expected as the market is extremely over-sold by most metrics.” Yet, even he is tired of the price drops, expressing “just get me out” of this bearish market.
The post Bitcoin Bear Market is Scaring Off Institutional Investors says JPMorgan appeared first on UNHASHED.
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