After a brief bounce at the beginning of the week, Bitcoin and Ethereum are back to price levels not seen in weeks, reinforcing the momentum of the upward move. Amid this rebound, both leading crypto assets are displaying consistent growth underneath the surface.
Rising Leverage Collide Bitcoin And Ethereum Rebound
Bitcoin and Ethereum’s prices just shifted into a bullish state and are demonstrating more upside potential in the short term. The recent bounce in both assets is running into a new layer of complexity, as clearly observed in their Open Interest (OI) on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Santiment, a popular market intelligence and data analytics platform, shared this trend on the X platform, capturing investors’ attention across the market. At the time of the report, Bitcoin’s price was already trading at $76,070 while ETH was trading at $2,395, marking their highest market values since the beginning of February.
This bounce is accompanied by a greater sense of optimism, with the rapid creation of margin and leveraged positions, indicated in their ongoing rising open interest. Even while the price recovery signals renewed optimism, the simultaneous increase in leveraged positions indicates more speculative activity behind the move.
Interestingly, this kind of pattern typically leads to a fragile environment, where momentum can quickly accelerate. However, they are also known for unwinding just as fast in the event that sentiment begins to shift.
According to the report from Santiment, BTC’s open interest has experienced a more than 59% rising over the past 7 weeks. The same goes for Ethereum’s open interest, which has secured an over 45% in within the same period. Santiment stated that this spike reflects growing conviction among traders. However, it can also lead to higher risk, as crowded leveraged trades can swiftly unwind.
When open interest climbs in tandem with prices, the market often turns more volatile, with sudden squeezes in either direction becoming highly likely. Currently, Sentiment highlighted that traders are now feeling enough confidence to take on increased risk.
BTC And ETH Whales Are Returning to The Market
Despite witnessing volatility, high-net-worth holders are slowly returning to the market, which could bolster its upward price action. Data from Santiment shows that the number of ETH wallet addresses holding at least 100,000 ETH has increased from 54 to 57 in the past week.
The platform has predicted a level of correlation with price when this wallet count grows. In addition, there is a strong justification that the altcoin’s price will continue to rise. Large-scale investors or whales are also not sleeping on Bitcoin either.
Reports reveal that whale holdings between 1,000 BTC and 10,000 BTC now hold over 4.25 million BTC, representing over 21.3% of BTC’s total supply. Since mid-February, this is the most coins the cohort has held. A 27,652 BTC addition on Sunday amounts to slightly over $2 billion in accumulation as the leading crypto asset enjoys a rebound.