GLOBAL CRYPTO SN221

Key takeaways:

Bitfinex margin longs fell 18%, despite Bitcoin price rising 24% in 30 days.

$6.8 billion in long positions far outweight the current $25 million in shorts.

Bitcoin options positioning and spot BTC inflows point to confidence from institutional investors.

Bitcoin (BTC) price climbed 23.7% over the past 30 days, yet traders on Bitfinex have cut their leveraged long positions by more than 18,000 BTC during this time. This wave of profit-taking in margin markets has led to speculation that professional traders may not be fully confident in the current $104,000 price level.

Bitfinex BTC margin longs, BTC. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Bitfinex margin longs dropped from 80,387 BTC to 65,889 BTC between April 16 and May 16. This shift marks a reversal from the strong bullish margin demand seen between mid-February and mid-March, a period when Bitcoin’s price fell from $97,600 to $82,500. The current decrease in margin longs is likely a sign of healthy profit-taking rather than a turn toward bearish momentum.

The reasoning behind this move is not entirely clear, since Bitcoin’s jump above $100,000 occurred on May 8, about three weeks after the margin longs peaked. Still, it would be wrong to suggest that Bitfinex whales have adopted a bearish outlook. Their margin longs now total $6.8 billion, while margin shorts stand at just $25 million, showing a major gap between bullish and bearish positions.

Bitfinex BTC margin shorts, BTC. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

This difference is mainly due to Bitfinex’s low 0.7% annual interest rate for margin trading. By contrast, those using leverage for 90-day Bitcoin futures are paying a 6.3% annualized premium. This gap creates arbitrage opportunities.

For example, one can open Bitcoin longs on margin and simultaneously sell an equivalent position in BTC futures to benefit from the rate difference. Margin traders also tend to have longer time frames and higher risk tolerance than average investors, so their position changes are less affected by short-term price moves.

Whales unfazed by $105,000 resistance as BTC ETFs drive optimism

To rule out factors limited to margin markets, it is useful to look at Bitcoin options. If traders expect a correction, demand for put (sell) options rises, pushing the 25% delta skew above 6%. In bullish periods, this metric usually drops below -6%.

Bitcoin 30-day options delta skew (put-call) at Deribit. Source: Laevitas.ch

The current -6% options delta skew shows confidence in Bitcoin’s price, even though data over the past two weeks has ranged from neutral to slightly bullish. This indicates that whales and market makers are not especially concerned about repeated failures to break above the $105,000 barrier.

Some of the increased optimism, despite lower demand for leveraged bullish positions, comes from the $2.4 billion net inflows into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) between May 1 and May 15. Therefore, the drop in Bitcoin margin longs does not mean institutional traders are turning bearish, especially when considering the BTC options markets.

Although this data does not reveal whether Bitcoin is any closer to breaking above $105,000, the fact that there are $6.8 billion in leveraged margin longs clearly shows that professional traders remain highly optimistic about the price outlook.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin adoption is reaching a new milestone in France. The Carrefour Express in Rouen has just announced that it now accepts Bitcoin payments via the Lightning network. This initiative marks a turning point in the integration of cryptocurrencies by major French retailers.

The article Carrefour Express now accepts Bitcoin payments! appeared first on Cointribune.

The long-awaited Cardano [ADA] hard fork has finally been implemented after some technical delays necessitated rescheduling the update.
This upgrade has introduced changes to the network’s setup, marking a significant milestone for the blockchain’s infrastructure.
However, despite these advancements, the situation for ADA remains challenging as more crypto whales have begun to free up their holdings.
Crypto whales dump ADA
The recent Chang hard fork, which was anticipated to enhance the network’s functionality, has yet to result in ADA’s positive movement. Instead, there has been a notable trend of crypto whales reducing their ADA holdings.
Data from Santiment indicates that these whale addresses, particularly those holding between 1 million and 1 billion ADA tokens, have recently decreased their positions.
This reduction suggested that these addresses sold off a substantial portion of their holdings as the upgrade approached.
Cardano crypto whales
Source: Santiment
Further analysis revealed that these whale addresses collectively offloaded over $326 million worth of ADA, representing about 15% of their total holdings.
This sizable sell-off highlighted a potential lack of confidence among major investors in ADA’s near-term price prospects despite the technical advancements brought by the hard fork.
The behavior of these whales is a critical indicator of market sentiment, as their actions often reflect broader concerns or expectations.
The decision to dump such a significant amount of ADA before or shortly after the upgrade could imply that these investors are either uncertain about the immediate benefits of the hard fork or are taking a cautious approach due to broader market conditions.
Cardano is still stuck in a bear trend
AMBCrypto’s analysis of ADA on the daily price chart revealed a notable shift in momentum leading up to and following the recent network upgrade.
Initially, ADA experienced a positive buildup, reaching a peak on the 24th of August, when it successfully broke through a key resistance level.

However, as the upgrade approached, this upward momentum reversed, and ADA began to decline.

Cardano price trend
Source: TradingView

The price fell below its short-term moving average (yellow line), which had previously served as a support level but now acts as resistance.

As of this writing, ADA was trading at around $0.32, reflecting a decline of over 2%. The modest over 1% gain it achieved in the previous trading session has been erased by this latest downturn.

Further analysis of ADA’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) suggested continued bearish momentum. The RSI was almost below the 40 level as of this writing.

If the RSI dips below 40, it could indicate that ADA is entering the oversold zone. The level is often associated with increased selling pressure and further declines.

Fewer addresses become active
The recent analysis of Cardano’s daily active addresses revealed a significant decline in network activity over the past seven days.

Data from Santiment shows that the number of active addresses spiked around the 27th of August, reaching over 35,000. The spike is likely due to increased interest leading up to the network upgrade.

However, this activity level rapidly decreased in the days that followed.

Cardano's active addresses
Source: Santiment

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As of this writing, the number of daily active addresses has dropped to approximately 19,700. This sharp decline in active addresses highlighted a noticeable reduction in network participation.
It confirmed that Cardano’s crypto whales and other holders have become less active during this period.
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Russia has finally put its cards on the table about how it plans to use cryptocurrency for international trade within BRICS as a way to stick it to America and its dollar. The country is working on launching two crypto exchanges, one in Moscow and the other in St. Petersburg.

The main goal here? To back up foreign economic activities (FEA). That’s right, Russia wants to make sure BRICS  international trade is supported by its own crypto infrastructure, and it is happening under an experimental legal framework.

Sources close to the situation say these exchanges are likely to cater to “blue chips” first, but the scope might be tight due to the risks involved with sanctions.

President Vladimir Putin with his best friend President Xi Jinping

According to insiders, the St. Petersburg exchange might be built on the existing St. Petersburg Currency Exchange (SPCE) framework, focusing specifically on FEA.

Meanwhile, the Moscow exchange’s foundation is still up in the air—either it will be part of the Moscow Exchange or run independently under a legal experiment.

One of the most exciting parts of this whole operation is the plan to roll out stablecoins pegged to the yuan and a broader BRICS currency basket. While stablecoins are essentially a type of cryptocurrency, they bring their own set of challenges.

These include technology hiccups within Russia’s blockchain ecosystem and issues related to liquidity, convertibility, and asset backing, which Russia does acknowledge.

Now Russia’s crypto regulation is still in its early days, primarily governed by key legal documents like the Federal Law No. 259-FZ on Digital Financial Assets. This law lays down the legal foundations for issuing and circulating digital financial assets.

But there’s a catch—it doesn’t provide specific rules for operating crypto exchanges. The only real applicable regulation for these potential exchanges in Russia right now is the Experimental Legal Regime (ELR), which was just recently passed.

As per Mikhail Uspensky, a member of the Russian State Duma’s expert council on crypto regulation, the future of this experiment is entirely in the hands of the regulator.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Vladimir Putin

Let’s talk about who gets access. Small and medium-sized businesses, and especially individuals, probably won’t have an easy time getting in on the first wave. Mikhail also explained that the entire experiment’s contours are left to the discretion of the regulator.

And then there’s the issue of choice—or lack thereof. Some industry analysts believe that only those with no other options will use these exchanges.

The same goes for the stablecoins. He’s convinced that only those forced into a corner will bother with them. The only scenario where someone might turn to a Russian platform, according to these analysts, is sheer desperation.

Now, if you’re thinking this sounds like a risky venture, you’re not alone. The blockchain is relatively transparent, which means any breach of confidentiality could land transaction information on sanctions lists, triggering blocks on crypto transactions made on these domestic exchanges.

Mikhail explains it like this: if information about a cryptocurrency being purchased on a Russian exchange leaks to the public, it could be easily tracked using special technical tools.

This would likely result in marking all transactions as suspicious, causing headaches not just for the participants but also for future holders of the digital currency, even those who have nothing to do with Russia.

And if you’re hoping that the centralized nature of these exchanges might build some trust, forget about it. The analysts say it’ll do the exact opposite. Mikhail warns that this centralized nature will kill any trust, effectively putting a huge dent in the credibility of the entire project.

Recent events surrounding the crypto exchange Binance sparked significant debate about the United States’ crackdown on crypto firms. According to Omid Malekan, adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and author, the Department of Justice’s approach in the case is very different from what is seen in traditional finance.

“People who sincerely believe that crypto is some unique enabler of bad people doing bad things don’t understand how the rest of the financial system actually works,” Malekan wrote on X (formerly Twitter), adding that companies that follow Anti-Money Laundering best practices still process large sums of illicit funds. “But that’s all considered OK because somebody did the paperwork.”

Malekan also argued that many on Wall Street would be jailed if traditional firms were given the same treatment as Binance in similar cases.

“If they’d been held to the Binance Standard there’d be hundreds of managing directors in jail and less money for shareholder buybacks (or lobbying). But the bankers were smart enough to never question the game.”

Despite criticism, Malekan believes the exchange was still “wrong to lie to its customers and wrong for not being compliant.” Binance and its co-founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, recently reached a billionaire settlement with the U.S. government for allegedly allowing individuals engaged in illicit activities to move “stolen funds” through the exchange. CZ stepped down as CEO as part of the settlement.

Malekan also praised Binance’s contribution to financial inclusion over the past few years:

"It did a reasonably decent job of onboarding tens of millions of poor, brown, and otherwise underprivileged people into the financial system, something the world’s compliant financial firms have chronically failed to do."

ICIJ investigation into global money laundering

Some of the world’s largest banks allowed trillions of dollars to be laundered by criminals, according to leaked documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The investigation, disclosed on Sept. 2020, analyzed over 2,100 suspicious activity reports (SARs) involving transactions worth more than $2 trillion between 1999 and 2017 that were flagged as potential money laundering or criminal activity by financial institutions’ internal compliance officers. Banks facilitating these transactions included major institutions such as the Bank of New York Mellon, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC.

The ICIJ organized more than 400 journalists from 110 news organizations in 88 countries to investigate banks potentially involved in money laundering.

Magazine: This is your brain on crypto — Substance abuse grows among crypto traders