Bitcoin Market Braces for Potential Slump amid Bearish Sentiment

Bitcoin traders anticipate a potential extended price decline as indicated by options data showing a bearish outlook. The volume of put options surpassing call options suggests traders expect a drop, with strike prices clustered around $50,000 and $45,000. Crypto prime broker FalconX attributes the market correction to outflows from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, while analysts note a weakening correlation to equities and specific product outflows driving Bitcoin lower.

Bitcoin Market Braces for Potential Price Decline Amid Bearish Sentiment

According to Deribit, a leading crypto options exchange, Bitcoin traders are preparing for a possible extended decline in the token's price, with options data suggesting a bearish outlook in the near term.

In the past 24 hours, the volume of Bitcoin put options expiring on March 29 has surpassed that of call options. This shift in the put-to-call ratio, a crucial indicator of market sentiment, signals that traders are anticipating a potential drop in Bitcoin's value. On the platform, the strike prices of these put options are concentrated around $50,000 and $45,000, while Bitcoin was trading at approximately $63,500 on Friday.

The market correction is attributed to substantial outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), according to David Lawant, head of research at crypto prime broker FalconX. "Yesterday's spot ETF net inflows data revealed the second four-day outflow streak since these products began on January 11," Lawant told Bloomberg.

The downturn in Bitcoin's price contrasts with the recent upswing in the stock market, where traders are more upbeat about the Federal Reserve potentially cutting interest rates this year. Bitcoin has fallen by over 10% from its all-time high, marking one of the year's most significant declines, as the group of ten spot Bitcoin ETFs is set to record its highest outflow since launch. Over $218 million in optimistic bets were liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass.

Chris Newhouse, a DeFi analyst at Cumberland Labs, explained to Bloomberg that while digital assets initially reacted positively to macro tailwinds surrounding the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, a diminishing correlation to equities, fueled by product-specific outflows and liquidations, appears to have dragged Bitcoin and Ethereum lower.

The funding rates for perpetual futures, which reveal the extent of leverage in crypto trading, continue to be relatively modest following recent waves of liquidations. This indicates that the current decline in Bitcoin's price may be less abrupt than previous pullbacks. However, the high degree of leverage in long positions exacerbated Bitcoin's decline on Monday, with over $582 million in long liquidations and a total liquidation of more than $738 million.

Despite the existing bearish sentiment in the options market and the recent price drop, certain analysts remain bullish regarding Bitcoin's long-term prospects. A recent report by Bernstein claims that Bitcoin could be positioned for significant gains by the year's end, with a price objective of $90,000.

The analysts also consider Bitcoin miners to be enticing investments for equity investors, highlighting factors like the new Bitcoin bull cycle and strong exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows.