The gains of cryptocurrencies, which have been extending for about two days, continue, led by Bitcoin, which recorded gains of more than 2% today and regained the 46,330 level for the first time since the previous January 12, which was the second day of launching Bitcoin spot ETFs.
These crypto gains come as sentiment gradually returns with outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) continuing to fall below $100 million over the past two sessions. This also coincides with positive flows into other spot Bitcoin ETFs, albeit in a gradual manner.
As investors finish taking profit on the GBTC and rebalancing their portfolios, Bitcoin will have eliminated one of the most important obstacles to its progress. The negative sentiment was mainly driven by the violent outflows from the GBTC that came after the approval to launch these ETFs.
The positive sentiment also led to the launch of more noticeable liquidations of short positions on cryptocurrencies, with the largest volume since the beginning of February.
During the past two days, which witnessed the decline of outflows from the GBTC to below $100 million, we witnessed the liquidation of more than $141 million of short positions, according to data provided by CoinGlass. While Bitcoin had the largest share of those liquidations with more than $66 million.
Moreover, today the markets are awaiting the expiry of approximately $714 million worth of Bitcoin options, in which put/call ratio stands at 0.82, according to Deribit.
As for next week, the Chinese New Year is celebrated, which usually coincides with positive movements in the crypto market, and this in turn may contribute to fueling investor sentiment with the likely “calendar effect.”
Other than all that, this mixture of positive sentiment comes as the focus gradually shifts day after day towards the expected “halving” event during the second quarter of this year, which is usually one of the most important positive signs for Bitcoin and the crypto market in general.
