Bitcoin (BTC): Thelargest cryptocurrency by market value rebounded from a late Tuesday swoon to recently trade at around $23,386, roughly flat over the past 24 hours. BTC sank below $22,500 the previous day along with most other major cryptos as many investors likely took profits after a four-day upsurge. Bitcoin has risen more than 35% in value this year.
Equities traded sideways with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, which has a hefty technology component, and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) all down a few smidgens of a percentage point. Investors chewed over the latest cascade of fourth-quarter earnings, including those of Boeing and Microsoft.
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Layer 1 blockchain Aptos’ token, which has been surging since the start of the year, broke an all-time high on Wednesday.
The token, APT, hit new record highs and is up 427% since Jan. 1, according to CoinDesk data.
APT was more recently changing hands at $18.30, a more than 46% gain over the past 24 hours.
The token’s rally has outsized recent moves from the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, bitcoin and ether. Bitcoin is up 30% in 2023 while ether has gained 34%.
The funding rates for the token are still negative, however, suggesting traders are expecting the rally to be short-lived.
“If traders are willing to open short positions with highly negative funding rates, they must have belief the token will decline,” Christopher Newhouse, a crypto derivatives trader at crypto market maker GSR, said. “Despite the surge, this suggests shorts think the rally may have gone too far.”
Token Roundup
Ether (ETH): ETH had yet to recover as much ground as bitcoin from the Tuesday crypto fall. The second-largest crypto in market value was recently changing hands at about $1,580, off roughly 2.1%.
Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB): The popular meme coins tumbled about 2.6% and 3.3%, respectively.
Axie infinity (AXS): Play-to-earn giant Axie Infinity’s AXS cryptocurrency, which reached a four-month high of $13.94 earlier Monday and was up 13% at one point Tuesday, continued its surge. AXS was recently up about 2%.
Market Analysis: Derivatives Bullishness
Derivatives markets are signaling positive sentiment for bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s current term structure is in “contango,” a condition that exists when the price of bitcoin futures exceeds the price of bitcoin in spot markets.
Contango is represented by an upward-sloping futures curve. The opposite condition is “backwardation,” where futures prices are lower than spot prices, and represented by a downward-sloping price curve.
In traditional markets, where supply, demand and physical storage are significant factors, contango is often a bearish sign because the difference between the futures and spot price is based largely on the cost of transporting and storing that asset.
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