Wintermute: Bitcoin's rally is fragile amid weak spot demand; a short-term reversal may be imminent.
CoinFeed reported on May 13th that, according to Cryptopolitan, a market report released by Wintermute indicated that Bitcoin's breakthrough of $80,000 was primarily driven by a short squeeze in the perpetual futures market, rather than by spot demand. Over the past month, open interest in Bitcoin futures increased by approximately $10 billion to $58 billion, but spot trading volume fell to a two-year low. When Bitcoin broke through $70,000, a large number of short positions were forcibly liquidated, triggering a buying frenzy that pushed prices higher. Wintermute warned that the rally, lacking support from spot demand, is fragile and the market could face a sharp reversal. In the long term, while spot ETFs have recently seen net inflows of $623 million and exchange-traded Bitcoin holdings have fallen to a seven-year low, these factors are insufficient to offset short-term risks. Higher-than-expected US CPI data and uncertainty surrounding the nomination of the Federal Reserve Chairman could also exacerbate market pressures.