- Bitcoin traders remain bullish despite a record-breaking wipeout last week.
- Analysts warn that traders are flying blind.
- Bitcoin is down 11% from its all-time high.
Despite a record-setting crash late last week, crypto traders are piling into new bets that Bitcoin will blow past $130,000 before the year’s end.
Data from Glassnode, a crypto analytics platform, shows a dense cluster of call positions around the $130,000 price level.
Options calls pay out if the price of the underlying asset rises above the trader’s strike price, which is $130,000 in this case.
Market data from Deribit, a crypto derivatives exchange, also mirrors the same trend. There’s $1.7 billion in bets that Bitcoin’s price will trade between $140,000 and $150,000 before the end of the year.
Analysts at the crypto exchange Bitfinex have warned that sentiment and speculative activity, rather than key US economic data, are behind the latest wave of exuberance.
The US Bureau of Labour Statistics, for instance, has halted its monthly jobs reports and delayed its inflation data due to the ongoing government shutdown.
Underlying fragility
Without that compass, Bitfinex analysts say traders and investors should brace for potential price volatility ahead.
That’s because the analysts say the absence of data may be “masking underlying fragility,” which could amplify volatility when the numbers are eventually released.
Despite the data blackout, Bitcoin investors remain bullish.
Apart from options traders, punters on Polymarket, a platform where crypto traders bet on real-world outcomes, are also enthusiastic about Bitcoin’s price trajectory this year.
Data from the crypto betting platform shows users have stacked more than $33 million into bets on Bitcoin’s price this year.
The $130,000 price bet is the most popular among optimistic punters on the platform, with 52% of the betting activity on that price level in favour of the outcome.
Bitcoin traded at $111,600 on Wednesday, down 11% from its recent peak of $126,000.
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.
