First Mover: As Bitcoin Prices Fall, Traders Are Buying More Downside Protection

PLUS: Bitcoin Holds Support Around $53K; Resistance Zone Within Reach

Everything you need to make sense of the crypto markets and beyond By the CoinDesk Markets Team Edited by Lawrence Lewitinn, Managing Editor, Global Capital Markets April 20, 2021 Sponsored by     Bitcoin (BTC) -0.8%  $56,104 Ether (ETH)  -1.5%  $2,190 (Price data as of April 20 @11:00 UTC) If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.  Good morning. Here's what we're writing about: Market Moves: As Bitcoin Prices Fall, Traders Are Buying More Downside Protection   Technician's Take: Bitcoin Holds Support Around $53K; Resistance Zone Within Reach   Check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Lawrence Lewitinn and Emily Parker, at 9 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Today the show will feature guests: Hester Peirce, Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Charlie Morris, ByteTree Founder & Chief Investment Officer Jason Les, Riot Blockchain CEO Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:   Gainers: Bitcoin Cash (BCH): +1.1%   Losers:  OMG Network (OMG): -8.1% Orchid (OXT): -7.1% Algorand (RAND): -7.6% Tezos (XTZ): -7.3% 0x (ZRX): -6.7%   The CoinDesk 20 are 20 digital assets filtered from the larger universe of thousands of cryptocurrencies and constitute roughly 99% of the market by volume at eight of the largest and most trustworthy exchanges. Market Moves by Omkar Godbole As Bitcoin Prices Fall, Traders Are Buying More Downside Protection   Bitcoin's short-term put options (bearish bets) are drawing higher prices than calls (bullish bets) in a sign of increased demand for downside protection in the wake of the cryptocurrency's recent drop to three-week lows.    According to data provider Skew, the one-week put-call skew has jumped to 26%, the highest since Oct. 2, and the one-month gauge has risen to a three-week high of 8%.    Put-call skews measures the value of puts relative to that of calls. In plain English, a positive skew implies that demand for puts is outstripping calls and vice versa.    That said, the positive one-week and one-month skews do not necessarily mean that traders have turned bearish on the cryptocurrency. They could be buying "protective puts" – purchasing puts against long positions in the spot or futures market.    Bitcoin: One-week put-call skew (Source: Skew) Some institutions bought Sunday's price dip to $51,248 and may have added protective puts, causing a bump in put-call skews. The one-week gauge has increased from roughly 6% since Sunday.    Sunday's price drop happened after disruptions at coal plants in Xinjiang and other parts of China in the second half of last week knocked out bitcoin miners in the region, crashing the hash rate or the computing power by 46% to 106 exa hashes per second.    While the narrative that prices follow the hash rate is debatable, some funds track the hash rate. Miners, whose profitability is heavily influenced by price gyrations, may have bought puts on fears that these funds may sell, leading to a more profound decline in prices.    The decline in the hash rate was very pronounced over the last week and could have easily triggered some selling if algo funds were at a tipping point already due to other factors.    Bitcoin put-call skews (Source: Skew) While demand for short-term puts has spiked, the long-term put-call skews remain well below zero, indicating continued bias for calls.    Read the original story here: As Bitcoin Prices Fall, Traders Are Buying More Downside Protection A message from Nexo Your digital assets deserve a savings account in their BEST INTEREST. Leading crypto lender Nexo treats you, your crypto and your fiat to industry-best Crypto & Fiat services, featuring:    * Up to 12% interest on digital assets, paid out daily! * Yields available on BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, XRP, XLM, EOS, TRX, LINK, BNB, PAXG, USDT, USDC, TUSD, PAX, DAI, HUSD, GBP and EUR. * No minimum or maximum limits on funds deposited, offering infinite opportunities to earn. * #ZeroFees on all transactions. * Military-grade wallet security and top-tier insurance on all custodial assets with SOC 2 Type 2 certified crypto custodian BitGo. Get started at nexo.io Technician's Take by Damanick Dantes Bitcoin Holds Support Around $53K; Resistance Zone Within Reach Bitcoin (BTC) held short-term support around $53,000 and is now approaching resistance around $58,000-$59,000. Buyers are entering after a near 15% selloff triggered oversold readings during the weekend. The cryptocurrency was trading around $56,000 at press time. For now, the high-volume selloff on April 17 suggests capitulation as buyers were quick to defend the price low just above $51,000.   Chart shows BTC drawdown (percent decline from peak to trough) (Source: Koyfin) The drawdown (percent decline from peak to trough) of the April 17 selloff was the worst since March 25, but not as extreme as in January. Hourly BTC chart shows support and resistance levels (Source: TradingView)   Resistance is now seen around the 200-period moving average on the hourly chart, which could limit upside over the short-term. BTC is attempting to break above a series of price lows from April 17, which suggests support around $53,000 will hold over the short-term. Original story found here: Bitcoin Holds Support Around $53K; Resistance Zone Within Reach A message from Residual Our software platform leverages blockchain's near instantaneous, immutable settlement capabilities and eliminates latency and costly transaction fees. By bridging the gap between traditional financial services and today's cutting edge technology, unFederalReserve can help thousands of non-bank lenders and borrowers around the world. The eRSDL community is diverse and inclusive, encourages engagement and ongoing support for each other, and is dedicated to DeFi projects that de-risk at every opportunity. We are pleased to welcome the first product in our ecosystem, the Reserve Lending platform - the beginning of a robust treasurer's tool kit that will streamline future banking transactions. BOLO Be on the look out for these upcoming events:  14:00 UTC (10:00 a.m. ET): Bloomberg New Economy: The Ascent of Digital Money. Moderated by Andrew Browne Panelists: Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard Executive Vice President, Digital Asset, Blockchain Products & Partnerships Gita Gopinath, International Monetary Fund Economic Counsellor and Director of Research Department Hester M. Peirce, US Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Michael Sonnenshein, Grayscale Investments CEO   A message from CoinDesk CoinDesk's Quarterly Review Webinar Series   The suits are here to stay, but retail isn't going away. While Q1 saw the emergence of retail investors as a market driver, crypto caught explosive interest through non-fungible tokens from investors, celebrities and the general public.   Every Monday at 11:30 a.m. ET, crypto analysts Noelle Acheson and Christine Kim will discuss the performance and milestones of bitcoin and ether compared to macro and other crypto assets, along with important developments in the emerging DeFi and NFT sectors. Each episode in this four-part series will reference key findings from the latest CoinDesk Quarterly Review report and a live Q&A.   Sign up for CoinDesk's Quarterly Review Webinar Series, every Monday from April 12. ICYMI In case you missed it, here's the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:   Bitcoin, Ether Recovering from Nosedive: What Happened? Bitcoin plunged to three-week lows yesterday during Asia hours amid rumors of a U.S. regulatory crackdown. Is there any truth to those rumors? Did the drop have more to do with a power outage in China, or was it something else? "First Mover" reviews the possible reasons with CoinDesk's regulatory expert Nikhilesh De. Also, Perianne Boring of the Chamber of Digital Commerce shares what she knows about regulatory news from Washington and a look at the markets today with Peter Hans of Arca. Plus, meet Kevin Roose, the New York Times columnist, who made history selling his column as an NFT. A message from CoinDesk Can't Beat Them? Join Them: Why Crypto Company Anchorage Became a Bank   Perhaps the old adage "every tech company wants to be a bank — someday, at least" is true. But why would a crypto company, given Bitcoin's philosophical roots, want to become a bank? And what does a crypto bank even look like, let alone do?   Join us for a chat with leaders from Anchorage, the OCC and the Blockchain Association for an inside look on why and how Anchorage became the first crypto company to secure an OCC bank charter.   We'll dive deeper into the topic at Consensus by CoinDesk, our big-tent event May 24-27.   Join us on Clubhouse on April 20 at 5 p.m. ET. Latest Headlines   Celo Network Adds Deutsche Telekom as Partner; German Telco Buys 'Significant' CELO Position Big companies buying bitcoin for their balance sheets is so last year. Online Retailer Newegg Accepting Dogecoin as Payment Option The announcement coincides with "Doge Day" in which enthusiasts and traders are pumping the coin hard to get its price to $1. 4 Ways to Stay Safe in Crypto Online safety is paramount in this digital age, especially when investing and storing wealth in crypto assets. Binance.US Hires Former Bank Regulator Brian Brooks as CEO The Trump administration's Acting Comptroller of the Currency has joined the U.S. affiliate of the world's largest crypto exchange. Silvergate's Exchange Network Handled $166.5B in Crypto-Related Transactions in Q1 The La Jolla, Calif.-based bank, which serves major crypto firms such as Coinbase, Gemini and Kraken, added 135 digital currency customers in Q1.     PayPal Expands Its Crypto Offerings to Its Venmo Payments App Customers will be able to buy and sell crypto on Venmo for a fee starting from $1. Introducing Unlocked 101 at Consensus by CoinDesk 2021 New to crypto? Here's a crash course. Unlocked 101 is a free educational series of sessions designed to give you the tools to navigate crypto. Sessions will be hosted May 4–20 to prepare you for Consensus by CoinDesk 2021, our virtual big-tent event. Register for Unlocked 101 this May.   Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.  ATTENTION: Scammers have been sending fraudulent emails with links to sites disguised to look like coindesk.com. 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