Bitcoin trades rangebound

Hola folks!

Welcome back! It has been all quiet on the crypto front, with Bitcoin trading around the $96,000 mark for the past week. The broader crypto market is also trading sideways as it awaits economic signals from the US Fed. 

A notable development in crypto was the news that 12 US state pension funds hold $330 million in Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy stock, placing indirect bets on BTC. This showcases an increased institutional interest in the world’s largest crypto asset.  

Today’s newsletter dives deep into the crypto market developments in the past week and how they can impact the crypto prices in the coming week. Read on!

Bitcoin has been eerily quiet this month, hovering below the six-figure milestone, currently stuck at the $96,000 range. But if options markets are any signal, traders are still betting on fireworks. The most popular trade? A $110K BTC call option expires in late March, with over $6 million in premium already stacked behind this bullish bet. 

Meanwhile, heavyweights like Strategy continue their relentless accumulation, and Abu Dhabi’s $436M ETF investment suggests that institutional appetite remains strong. Yet, despite these tailwinds, Bitcoin remains range-bound between $95K and $100K, signaling a standoff between buyers and sellers.

Ethereum, on the other hand, is flashing some bullish intent. Options data suggests traders are gearing up for a medium-term breakout, with over 70% of open interest now in call contracts. With February’s options expiry around the corner, ETH could be setting up for a decisive move. 

A surprising revelation supporting the crypto markets surfaced—twelve US state pension funds collectively hold $330 million worth of Strategy stock, making an indirect bet on Bitcoin’s future. Whether this quiet accumulation signals deeper institutional conviction or is just another trade remains to be seen.

Beyond the major coins, chaos erupted in the memecoin jungle. The LIBRA token rocketed to a $4 billion market cap before crashing 90% in minutes—spurred by none other than Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who promoted it before quickly distancing himself. Meanwhile, Bubblemaps has uncovered links between the LIBRA team and past meme coins tied to Melania Trump, fueling the speculations. 

Macro headwinds are also brewing, with inflation surprises and liquidity squeezes threatening risk assets. Adding to the intrigue, former Trump advisor Kevin Hassett is now in regular meetings with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, sparking speculation about potential rate cuts. With markets at an inflection point, the question remains—does the next big move belong to Bitcoin, Ethereum, or the next meme-fueled mania?

Weekly price movement: 

• BTC $96,256 ⏬ 1.65% 

• SOL $184.54 ⏬ 10.04%

• ETH $2,722  ⏫ 2.88%

• CAKE $2.80 ⏫ 66.23%

(All data here as of 2.45 p.m., 17 February 2025)

Before we conclude, here’s a quick look at some important news from around the crypto world.

• Solana DEX volume tops $60M, leads Ethereum. Solana-based DEXs have posted a total trading volume of just over $60 million this month, nearly double the $34 million on Ethereum, the biggest smart-contract blockchain, according to data source DeFiLlama. Read more here.

• Uniswap Labs, the primary developer behind one of the largest decentralized exchanges (DEX), Uniswap, announced that its long-awaited layer-2 network, Unichain, is now live. Powered by Optimism’s OP stack, Unichain, unlike other layer-2s on Ethereum, offers faster and cheaper transactions compared to Ethereum’s main net. Read more here.

That’s it for now. Thanks for sticking around.

See you later, folks! 👋

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