Bitcoin's Options Market Trims Bearish Bias Ahead of US CPI
  The latest moves in crypto markets, in context Edited by Omkar Godbole January 12, 2022 Sponsored by  If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.
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Market Moves The crypto market was a sea of green early Wednesday, with privacy coins and layer 1 tokens posting more significant gains than bitcoin and ether.
The sentiment improved late Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank might shrink its balance sheet later this year, easing fears of a quicker tightening that crept into the market last week.
Bitcoin's options market trimmed its bearish bias ahead of the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) report due for release at 13:30 UTC on Wednesday. The one-week put-call skew, which measures the cost of puts – or bearish bets – relative to calls, came off sharply from 17% to nearly 0% since late Monday, according to data provided by the crypto derivatives research firm Skew. The one- and three-month put-call skews saw a similar weakening of put bias.
Positive options market flows perhaps indicate that sophisticated investors foresee bitcoin withstanding U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data due at 13:30 UTC, which is expected to show the cost of living rose to a four-decade high of 7.1% in December.
That's quite possible as inflation concerns and the Fed's hawkish pivot look to have done the damage already. Bitcoin has crashed nearly 40% in the past two months.
So, unless the CPI prints significantly higher than expected, bitcoin's recovery looks set to continue.
"Gun to my head, inflation # (830AM EST) comes in line, and the crypto reversal continues. BTC sellers re-engage around $46,000, altcoins enjoy further upside," trader and analyst Alex Kruger tweeted. "Too much inflation talk. Even my barber mentioned it. Only a large CPI upside surprise would see prices crash."
Market may be close to bottom  Bitcoin's entity-adjusted dormancy flow (Glassnode) One blockchain data metric known as the "entity-adjusted dormancy flow" – a ratio of cryptocurrency's going market value to the annualized dollar value of coin dormancy – has dropped below $250,000. Dormancy refers to the average number of days each coin transacted remained dormant or unmoved. It's seen as a gauge of the market's spending pattern.
The area under $250,000 has marked major price bottoms in the past, as seen in the featured image provided by data analytics firm Glassnode.
"Entity-adjusted dormancy flow recently bottomed out, showing a full reset of the metric. These events historically print at the cyclical bottom," Glassnode said in a report published on Monday.
Read more: Blockchain Indicator Suggests Bitcoin Could Be Close to Bottoming Out
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Crypto Prices Bitcoin (BTC) See the latest price here Ether (ETH) See the latest price here The following are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 digital assets over the past 24 hours: Biggest Gainers:
Biggest Losers: Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive, and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges.
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Technician's Take By Omkar Godbole Cardano's ADA Jumps 5%, Eyes MA Hurdle  ADA's 4-hour chart with relative strength index (Source: TradingView) The bullish divergence of ADA's four-hour chart relative strength index suggests the path of least resistance is to the higher side.
The immediate resistance is seen at $1.320, the 200-period moving average (MA), followed by $1.30 – the lower high created on Dec. 27.
The cryptocurrency was trading at $1.25 at press time, representing a 5% gain on the day.
ICYMI In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV: Kevin O'Leary on NFT Market and DeFi, Venture Investor Paul Veradittakit on Bitcoin Markets and 2022 Predictions, Is Bitcoin Nearing a Price Bottom?
"First Mover" hosts speak to Kevin O'Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, for his view on the booming NFT market and the DeFi space. In addition, venture investor and Pantera Capital Partner Paul Veradittakit shares his crypto outlook for 2022. Plus, CoinDesk Managing Editor for Global Policy & Regulation Nikhilesh De shares the latest investigative report on Trump-era crypto policy.
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.
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