Three Things to Watch While BTC’s Nears $42K

TL;DR

Bitcoin’s recent spike to nearly $42,000 led to over $200 million in liquidations, heavily impacting short traders.
Predictions suggest this surge could mark the beginning of a major bull run, influenced by factors like the 2024 Bitcoin halving and potential US BTC ETF approval.
Market trends show a rise in Bitcoin exchange netflows and open interest in futures and options, indicating possible increased volatility ahead.

Short Traders are Affected

Bitcoin’s impressive performance this year continues at full speed after its valuation surged to almost $42,000 (per CoinGecko’s data) a few hours ago. Somewhat expected, the price peak, last observed in the early spring of 2022, has severely affected short traders.

According to data presented by CoinGlass, the cryptocurrency liquidations in the past 24 hours equal over $200 million, with around 80% of that amount being short positions. Bitcoin trades comprised approximately $80 million of the total figure, whereas Ether followed second with $30 million.

Numerous experts, analysts, and even the AI-powered language model ChatGPT have suggested that BTC’s latest uptrend could be just the beginning of a massive bull run that could take the asset to a new all-time high in the following months.

Factors that might propel such a rally might be the upcoming halving (scheduled for the spring of 2024) and the potential approval of a spot BTC ETF in the US.

Those curious to check some interesting BTC price predictions coming from prominent figures could take a look at our recent video below:

BTC Exchange Netflow

Another trend worth observing while watching BTC’s latest price expansion is the exchange netflows. According to CryptoQuant, outflows significantly surpassed inflows on November 30, charting a massive red candle.

Since then, though, things have gone in the other direction, meaning some Bitcoin investors might be getting ready to take some profits.

BTC Open Interest on the Rise

Last, but not least, it’s also important to look at the total number of outstanding Bitcoin futures or options contracts in the market. Their total number is usually referred to as open interest. The metric has jumped above $11.3 billion recently, suggesting increased volatility might be in the cards for the near future. 

It is worth noting that this is the highest level observed this year. In comparison, the figure stood at approximately $6 billion at the beginning of 2023.