The plot has intensified for Bitcoin on Tuesday, as prices broke the $ 12,000 mark for the first time before the planned launch of BTC futures this weekend. With this gain, bitcoin doubled since the November 12th low.
The rhythm of recording continues
Investors have become accustomed to headlines announcing new records for bitcoin. Tuesday was no exception, as prices jumped $ 12,000, according to Bitfinex. At the time of going to press, the exchange was trading BTC / USD at the rate of $ 12,114.
Data collected by Barchart shows BTC / USD at around $ 12,123, which represents a 3% gain for the session.
The BTC / USD daily business figure overshadowed $ 7.6 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Volumes have been steadily increasing in recent weeks as prices have continued to reach new heights. The Tuesday business figure was spread over several stock exchanges, with Bitfinex accounting for 8.5% of total volumes. Bithumb of South Korea saw 7.6% of daily transactions. The IOTA-BTC transactions initiated on Binance represented a similar amount.
At current values, bitcoin is capitalized at $ 205 billion. This represents about 57% of the total cryptocurrency market.
Institutional demand repressed
The CBOE Futures Exchange shocked the cryptocurrency community this week after it announced its intention to start offering bitcoin futures at 6:00 pm. And Sunday. In doing so, CBOE gives its competitor CME Group a run for its money as it was widely expected that it would be the first to launch bitcoin futures.
"Given the unprecedented interest in Bitcoin, it is critical that we provide clients with trading tools to help them express their opinions and cover their exposure," said CBOE CEO Ed Tilly in a statement. communiqué
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Under CBOE, bitcoin futures will trade under the symbol "XBT". They will also be free until the end of the year.
The CME Group will launch its bitcoin trading platform on December 18th. In the meantime, the Nasdaq is expected to compete next year, possibly as early as the second quarter.
Despite the euphoria surrounding crypto futures, it's not entirely clear how the new derivatives will affect prices. In the current market environment, the only market players that need to hedge are Bitcoin investors and miners who create a new currency. In a derivatives market, there is a lot more coverage at stake since the market is mainly composed of bears or pessimists. According to some analysts, the new environment of futures could make the big holders of Bitcoin particularly vulnerable.
That being said, Bitcoin investors have become accustomed to volatility. Violent price fluctuations are commonplace for cryptocurrency, which has nevertheless managed to increase further during most of the year.
The Bitcoin acceleration has been a boon to the thousands of other cryptocurrencies on the market. At last check, there were 17 other cryptos valued at $ 1 billion or more. This includes two cryptos that recently derived from the original blockchain – bitcoin cash (BTC) and bitcoin gold (BTG).
Disclaimer: The author owns bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. He holds investment positions in the coins, but does not perform any short-term or day trading.
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