FxWirePro: BTC/USD drifts sideways with 13% crackdown ahead of expiry season of CBOE XBT futures

Let’s observe BTCUSD price movements as bears snap rallies with bearish engulfing candle at $3,591 levels (i.e. 13.87% crackdown on weekly terms), shooting star has popped-up at $51.59 levels, while both leading and lagging technical indicators substantiate bearish stances.

Cryptocurrency derivatives have been the centre of attraction in the recent past. The current CBOE Bitcoin Futures contracts has its final spell of trading day on 16thJanuary. This would be the last chance for the relevant futures contracts to be traded or squared-off, and post which the outstanding contracts need to be settled by cash as per original specifications. 

As it nears to futures expiration, the underlying security is prone to unusual price behaviour with scenarios like short squeezing, tending to exaggerate price movements.

Bitcoin futures are now available for trading on the CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE). CFE launched trading in CBOE bitcoin futures on December 10 under the ticker symbol "XBT". Such trading facility offers wide range of services, such as, price discovery, transparency in volumes, deep liquidity and centralized clearing. XBTfutures provides a centralized marketplace for participants to trade based on their view of bitcoin prices, gain exposure to bitcoin prices or hedge their existing bitcoin positions.

XBT futures are cash-settled contracts based on the Gemini's auction price for bitcoin, denominated in U.S. dollars. Gemini Trust Company, LLC (Gemini) is a digital asset exchange and custodian founded in 2014 that allows customers to buy, sell, and store digital assets such as bitcoin, and is subject to fiduciary obligations, capital reserve requirements, and banking compliance standards of the New York State Department of Financial Services. Courtesy: BNC

Currency Strength Index: FxWirePro's hourly BTC spot index was at -28 (mildly bearish), hourly USD spot index is at 1 (absolutely neutral) at press time 13:43 GMT). 

For more details on the index, please refer below weblink: http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex