Traders hedge against Bitcoin's drop to $70,000, market needs new catalyst to reverse bearish sentiment

Odaily News Bitcoin is plunging further, down 25% from its all-time high less than six weeks ago as of Friday, and the decline is prompting traders to hedge against a drop to $70,000. Deribit data shows that the number of open contracts for Bitcoin put options with a strike price of $70,000 ranks second highest among all contracts expiring on February 28. A total of $4.9 billion in open interest will expire on Friday, and the lack of clear bullish signals has prompted investors to wait and see in a risk-off environment and withdraw funds from cryptocurrencies. "The cryptocurrency market is still looking for a new catalyst to reverse the bearish sentiment," said Ravi Doshi, co-head of markets at cryptocurrency market maker FalconX. (Bloomberg)