Analysis Today TheBitTimes.com

An unprecedented number of BTC margin longs recently closed at Bitfinex, leaving analysts searching for explanations. Since May 2022, the Bitcoin (BTC) margin markets on the Bitfinex exchange have been plagued by an unusually high open interest of over $2.7 billion. This information alone should raise a red flag, especially in light of Bitcoin's price decline from $39,000 to less than $25,000 during the same period. Traders seeking to leverage their cryptocurrency position had borrowed over 105,000 Bitcoin. Currently, the cause of this anomaly is unknown, as well as the number of entities involved in the trade. Cheap borrowing favors high demand Bitfinex's sub-0.1% annual rate may be a contributing factor to the size of the Bitcoin lending market. To date, this has been the norm and it creates enormous incentives for borrowing, even if there is no current need. There are few traders who would turn down such a ridiculously inexpensive leverage opportunity. Margin borrowing can...

BTC options data suggest that the Bitcoin price rally still has legs, even with wider economic concerns growing and the potential of a brief pause in the crypto market rally. This week Bitcoin (BTC) rallied to a 2023 high at $23,100 and the move followed a notable recovery in traditional markets, especially the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, which gained 2.9% on Jan. 20. Economic data continues to boost investors' hope that the United States Federal Reserve will reduce the pace and length of interest rate hikes. For instance, sales of previously owned homes fell 1.5% in December, the 11th consecutive decline after high mortgage rates in the United States severely impacted demand. On Jan. 20, Google announced that 12,000 workers were laid off, more than 6% of its global workforce. The bad news continues to trigger buying activity on risk assets, but Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, chief U.S. equity strategist at JPMorgan, expects weaker earnings guidance to "put downward pressure...