Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), the crypto market leaders, continue to trade within tight ranges as traders reassess macro conditions post-halving.
“After the halving, market volatility moderated somewhat,” Thomas Kim, a trader at Presto, told CoinDesk. “The recent three-day realized volatility was well below the implied volatility of BTC options, and investors may still need to assess macroeconomic variables.”
Liquidation data from CoinGlass shows that $52.46 million in positions were liquidated in the last 12 hours. Ether and BTC positions are the largest respectively, but there is also $6.86 million in HBAR liquidations – due to the token’s recent volume surge crossing the $1 billion mark – as well as $1.83 million in PEPE liquidations .
Justin d’Anethan of Keyrock, a crypto market maker, said in a Telegram interview with CoinDesk that traders are indecisive and cannot decide which position to take.
“It’s an interesting – if not very dynamic – market to watch, both on the crypto and traditional sides; traders seem incapable of turning decidedly bullish or bearish, as evidenced by the prices moving into place remain,” he told CoinDesk.
“There is a wave of negative news weighing on the markets,” d’Anethan continued, pointing to the SEC’s apparent desire to delay the ETF filing, President Joe Biden’s comments on crypto mining and the continued outflow of crypto investment products.
“On the other hand, and on the perhaps more bullish side, the pullback we saw last week, which was deliberately caused by some long leveraged liquidations, probably stirred up some froth and left us at a respectable level with some committed capital.” he said.
Coinglass data shows that over the weekend of April 12 and 13, when Iran launched its missile attack on Israel, more than $1.4 billion in long positions were liquidated.
“With the halving, crypto investors are unwilling to part with their coins and are likely bracing for higher prices in the long term.”
