BTC/USD: Bitcoin Futures Interest Surges as Bulls Return to the Market

The Bitcoin community suffered over the course of 2022 along with most of the crypto world, and many have been wondering when the bulls would return. Over the past two weeks however, there have been signals that BTC may have somewhat shaken off its reputation as a high-risk asset. Not least because the banking sector is beginning to look a little risky itself.

Bring in the bulls

Over the past week, Bitcoin has seen fairly impressive growth – logging a 15% increase in price. The total market cap of the crypto space has also added 8% – now sitting at an impressive $1.125tn. Bitcoin in particular however seems to be in a particularly bullish phase. Having struggled to break through resistance at the $25k mark since it dropped below it in June last year, BTC has smashed through over the weekend to a price of $27.7k at the time of writing.

Interest in Bitcoin futures has also been on the rise, with the amount of USD locked rising by 7% over the past month to a total of roughly $12bn – a new yearly high. Market sentiment of Bitcoin seems now to be markedly more positive than it was at the beginning of last year.

The banking crisis

An important factor for the increased interest in Bitcoin seen recently is uncertainty surrounding the banking sector. In the space of just a few weeks, several crypto-friendly banks including Silvergate entered liquidation, investment bank Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in the second largest bank failure in US history, and Credit Suisse has had to seek emergency funding from UBS.

Because of this crisis, Bitcoin’s principles of self-custody and decentralization are making BTC seem like a safe bet for investors amid market uncertainty. Stablecoins too are beginning to look uncertain amid increased regulatory scrutiny. This may also be contributing to increased inflows to the largest cryptocurrency by market cap as a more stable alternative.