Bullish Flows Push Bitcoin’s Put-Call Ratio to 2021 Low

PLUS: BTC Approaching Short-Term Support at $34K-$36K

Everything you need to make sense of the crypto markets and beyond By the CoinDesk Markets Team Edited by Lawrence Lewitinn, Managing Editor, Global Capital Markets August 3, 2021 Sponsored by     Bitcoin (BTC) -2.6%  $38,755 Ether (ETH)  -3.4%  $2,513 (Price data as of August 3 @11:00 UTC) If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.  Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. Here's what's happening this morning: Market Moves: Bullish Flows Push Bitcoin's Put-Call Ratio to 2021 Low Put-call open interest ratio measures the number of open positions in put options relative to calls. Technician's Take: Bitcoin Approaching Short-Term Support at $34K-$36K Bitcoin is under pressure, although buyers could return for a brief bounce. And check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Emily Parker and me at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Today the show will feature guests: Perianne Boring, The Chamber of Digital Commerce Founder & President Vance Spencer, Framework Ventures Co-Founder   – Lawrence Lewitinn Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:   Gainers: NuCypher (NU): +1.9% The Graph (GRT): +1.0% Chainlink (LINK): +0.2% Losers: Polkadot (DOT): -6.2% Uniswap (UNI): -4.9% XRP (XRP): -4.8% Bitcoin Cash (BCH): -4.6% The CoinDesk 20 are 20 digital assets filtered from the larger universe of thousands of cryptocurrencies and constitute roughly 99% of the market by volume at eight of the largest and most trustworthy exchanges. 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Market Moves by Omkar Godbole Bullish Flows Push Bitcoin's Put-Call Ratio to 2021 Low Bitcoin's put-call open position ratio dropped to the lowest level this year on increased activity in calls, or bullish bets.   The ratio slipped to 0.51 on Monday, hitting the least since Dec. 25 and extending the slide from the July high of 0.67, data provided by crypto derivatives research firm Skew show.   According to Skew's Twitter feed, about 2,000 bitcoin call option contracts with a strike price of $140,000 and an expiry date of Dec. 31 changed hands on Sunday. Similar volume was seen in the December expiry call with a strike price of $200,000.   "All this activity in calls has brought the put-call ratio to YTD lows," Skew tweeted on Monday.   A call option gives the holder the right but not the obligation to buy the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specific date. A call buyer essentially purchases insurance against bullish moves by paying a premium to the seller. A put option gives the purchaser the right to sell. Bitcoin put-call open interest ratio (Source: Skew) Data shared by over-the-counter desk Paradigm and analytics firm Genesis Volatility show investors bought Aug. 6 expiry calls at $44,000 and simultaneously sold calls at $50,000, a so-called bull call spread, last week, pulling the put-call open positions ratio down.   The bull call spread involves buying call options at, below or above the spot market price and selling an equal number of calls with the same expiry at a higher strike price.   It's a limited-risk, limited-reward strategy designed to benefit from an increase in the underlying asset. The maximum profit is earned if the asset expires at or above the short call's strike price, that is $50,000 in this case, on the settlement day. The maximum loss is limited to the net premium paid while setting the strategy. It is arrived at by subtracting the compensation received for selling the $50,000 call from the premium paid for buying the $44,000 call.   Traders also bought September expiry call spreads at $64,000-$124,000 strikes last week. Other metrics measuring the implied volatility or price differential between call and puts also paint a bullish picture. Bitcoin put-call skews (Source: Skew) For the first time in nearly 10 weeks, short-term, medium-term, and long-term put-call skews are displaying negative values, a sign of calls drawing higher demand or prices than puts. Read the original story here: Bullish Flows Push Bitcoin's Put-Call Ratio to 2021 Low The CoinDesk DeFi Index (DFX), benchmarking the investable DeFi sector, is now available for investors watching decentralized finance, the first true "sector" in cryptocurrencies. It is the latest index by CoinDesk Indexes, the market standard for crypto assets since 2014. The DFX provides a market-cap-weighted benchmark for a representative basket of DeFi-sector cryptocurrencies, composed of assets suitable for long-term holding. Find out more at coindesk.com/indexes/dfx, or email indexes@coindesk.com.  Technician's Take by Damanick Dantes, CMT Bitcoin Approaching Short-Term Support at $34K-$36K Bitcoin (BTC) sellers remained active during Asia hours as the cryptocurrency slipped further below $40,000 resistance. The next level of support is seen around $34,000-$36,000, which could stabilize the pullback.   Bitcoin was trading around $38,000 at press time and is down 2% over the past 24 hours. The short-term uptrend is weakening, although buyers could return for a brief bounce at support. Bitcoin four-hour price chart shows short-term support and resistance levels with RSI (Source: TradingView) The relative strength index (RSI) is approaching oversold levels on the four-hour chart, which could encourage short-term buying. Bitcoin broke below a series of higher price lows from the July 19 short-squeeze around $30,000. This suggests buyers are in profit taking mode given recent overbought signals on the daily chart. The weekly chart is not yet oversold, although downside momentum has slowed considerably over the past month.   Read the original story here: Bitcoin Approaching Short-Term Support at $34K-$36K A message from Worldpay Worldpay from FIS and Forter have teamed up to explore the evolution of the adoption of digital assets in the eCommerce industry, and how 21st century security measures can tackle the threat of fraud in card-to-crypto payments. Read the insights now BOLO Be on the look out for some of these upcoming events: No major economic data expected. The cryptocurrency movement has never been so sprawling, reaching every corner of the planet. Crypto State by CoinDesk aims to connect with local communities to explore this movement of financial disruption and how it trickles down to every corner of the globe, from DeFi investment opportunities to alternative ways to transact and store wealth. We're making virtual stops with audiences in Nigeria, the Middle East and Southeast Asia this year. Register for the Crypto State virtual tour. ICYMI In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:   New Infrastructure Bill Looks to Raise $28B via Crypto Taxes, Chief #Metaverse Officer Demystifies the Space "First Mover" is joined by Rep. Tom Emmer as the new infrastructure bill looks to raise $28 billion from crypto taxes. Arca's Chief Investment Officer Jeff Dorman on bitcoin's next move after it broke $42K over the weekend. Cathy Hackl, the self-claimed Chief Metaverse Officer, explains why it's important to invest in the space now. A Paradigm Shift in Mining The dynamic crypto mining industry has been even more active following China's crackdown. The global hashrate has largely shifted to North America, making the U.S. a key mining hub where institutions now take central stage. In this sponsored webinar on Aug. 10, Foundry CEO Mike Coyler explains how this new demographic of miners have special requirements, which the company has been catering to through its rapidly growing Foundry USA Pool and other services. Register for free. Latest Headlines Former Monero Maintainer 'Fluffypony' Arrested and to Be Extradited for Non-Crypto Crimes Riccardo Spagni, who was arrested in Tennessee, will be extradited to South Africa to face fraud charges. Senator Toomey Calls Text of Current Crypto Tax Proposal 'Unworkable' The Pennsylvania Republican said that tax reporting requirements in the cryptocurrency tax make the bill unworkable. Australian Exchange CoinJar Unveils Crypto Mastercard in Country First The company said its CoinJar Card marked an Australian first in denominating in local dollars, beating a competitor to market. P2P Exchange Hodl Hodl Reports Security Issue The non-custodial marketplace said some users' payment passwords might have been compromised. Bitwise Launches Crypto Funds for Aave and Uniswap The $1 billion digital assets manager said Wall Street-type clients are demanding more exposure to DeFi's biggest names. SEC Boss Gensler Eyeing Robust Regulation of Crypto Market: Report Gensler did not comment on the potential approval of a crypto exchange-traded fund. Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. 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