Ether (ETH) rallied 6.3% to $1,350 on Dec. 13, mimicking a similar failed attempt that took place on Nov. 10. Despite reaching the highest level in 33 days, the gains were not enough to instill confidence in traders according to two key derivatives metrics.
Bulls’ frustrations can partially be explained by Binance exchange facing a near-record $1.1 billion in withdrawals over a 24-hour period. The unusual behavior comes as Binance attempts to put out multiple disputes about its proof of reserves and overall solvency on crypto Twitter. According to Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, the social media posts amount to nothing more than FUD.
However, Binance’s USD Coin (USDC) reserves were emptied after alleged troubles with commercial banking hours.
The negative newsflow continued on Dec. 13, as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of now-bankrupt FTX crypto exchange. The fresh charges come just a day after his arrest by Bahamian authorities at the request of the U.S. government.
On Dec. 13, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also filed a lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX and Alameda Research, claiming violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and it demanded a jury trial.
Traders are relieved that Ether is trading above the $1,300 level, but the rebound has been mostly driven by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for November at 7.1% year-on-year, which was a tad bit softer than expected. More importantly, the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) is expected to decide on the interest rate hike on Dec. 14 and analysts expect the size of rate hikes to decline now that inflation appears to have peaked.
Consequently, investors believe that Ether could retrace its recent gains if comments Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell take a hawkish angle, a point highlighted by trader CryptoAceBTC:
Liquidity is low in market
And retracing quickly is only way to bring in buyers and sellersI think Fed meet will be Hawkish and price will retrace this CPI pump
Bitcoin $18k $18.5k resistance
ETH $1350-$1400
Will wait for Fed meet to load shorts— Cryptoce (@CryptoAceBTC) December 13, 2022
Let’s look at Ether derivatives data to understand if the surprise pump positively impacted investors’ sentiment.
The rally to $1,300 had a limited impact on confidence
Retail traders usually avoid quarterly futures due to their price difference from spot…
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