Action in the Bitcoin options market now suggests that crypto winter may be over, and the bottom could already be in. Long-term and short-term skews indicate the demand for puts (downside protection) to calls (bullish bets) has turned neutral.

This neutral skew may be evidenced in the lack of Bitcoin price volatility since late September. Additionally, for the first time since early September, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market-cap, has traded over $20k for a week straight. Notably, Bitcoin’s current 52 week low occurred four and a half months ago, in early summer.

 

Griffin Ardern, a crypto trader from Blofin said to CoinDesk, “The market sentiment has returned to neutral after a long time. That’s one of the important signals that the market may have found a bottom.”

As CoinDesk notes, (you can read the full story HERE),“The 30-, 90- and 180-day skews have returned to near zero for the first time since late March/early April. The 60-day skew has turned marginally positive, a hint of a bias for calls expiring in two months.”

In addition to the Bitcoin options data turning “marginally positive” and signaling the bottom may already be in, a new survey of institutional investors conducted by Fidelity Digital Assets has just been released…

And institutions are seemingly bullish on digital assets.

Fidelity, the Boston-based behemoth with $4.5 trillion under management, said that in the first half of 2022, 58% of institutional investors were invested in digital assets, up 6% year-over-year.

Further, the firm notes that 74% of institutions said they were planning on buying digital assets in the future. The sentiment among institutions has turned positive, with 51% having a positive perception of digital assets, up from just 45% in 2021.

According to the study (available HERE), “almost nine-in-10 institutional investors surveyed (88%) find characteristics of digital assets appealing, representing an increase of five points among U.S. institutional investors…”

Tom Jessop, president of Fidelity Digital Assets said, “While the markets have faced headwinds in recent months, we believe that digital assets fundamentals remain strong and that the institutionalization of the market over the past several years has positioned it to weather recent events.”

As for the future adoption of digital assets by more institutional investors, Chris Kuiper, director of research for Fidelity Digital Assets said:

“While short-term price fluctuation is a characteristic somewhat inherent to this emerging asset class, many of the other concerns cited by respondents can be addressed as institutional investors move through their journey of education, which is why we’re now more committed than ever to providing investors with resources that deepen their understanding and allow for thoughtful long-term investment consideration.”

Of course, Bitcoin HODLers are already well educated in digital assets and blockchain technology. But for them, the education of the public and institutions on the long-term viability and promise of digital assets like Bitcoin could mean more widespread acceptance…

And a higher Bitcoin price.

Read more about the Bitcoin options market, HERE

Or read the Fidelity survey report, HERE

 

Sources:

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/10/31/bitcoin-options-flip-neutral-for-first-time-since-march-in-a-sign-of-market-bottom/

https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/research-and-insights/2022-institutional-investor-digital-assets-study-key-findings?ccmedia=earned&ccchannel=media_coverage&cccampaign=investor_study&cctactics=press_release