Analysts at JP Morgan warned on Thursday (20) that the drop in institutional demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures contracts is a negative sign for the cryptocurrency market in the short term, which could cause the price of Bitcoin to fall dramatically. Today, the price is around US$ 98 thousand.
“This is a negative development and indicates a weakness in demand from institutional investors who use CME-regulated futures contracts to gain exposure to these two cryptocurrencies,” the bank’s analysts wrote in a note obtained by The Block, adding that futures contract prices could fall below spot prices, something that has not happened since Q3 2024.
“Both Bitcoin and Ethereum’s momentum indicators have been declining in recent months. Ethereum’s is already in negative territory,” the analysts said.
Other Bitcoin and cryptocurrency experts are also pessimistic, with one warning that the price of Bitcoin could plummet to around $70,000 per unit. It is worth remembering that, after Donald Trump’s election, the world’s most traded cryptocurrency reached almost $110,000, attracting many investors and generating even more encouraging price estimates.
Trump has even launched his own meme coins for himself and his wife. But so far, no concrete steps have been taken to address the promised reserves or regulatory reforms.
“Bitcoin’s rally has lost steam and is moving sideways, with the price falling from all-time highs. This has been confirmed by momentum indicators and relative strength readings against gold, the safe haven store of value benchmark,” Tyler Richey, co-editor of Sevens Report Research, wrote in a note that pinpointed Bitcoin’s key support level at $91,500.
If that level is broken, Bitcoin’s price could fall to $73,400 — the same level it reached in the first half of 2024, according to Richey.
Bitcoin’s sideways move comes as Abu Dhabi’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund bought $436 million worth of shares in BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the fourth quarter of last year, kicking off what has been described as a global Bitcoin adoption “race.”
While Bitcoin begins to falter, gold, considered the most traditional store of value on the planet, continues to renew records, at US$ 2,956.
