Bitcoin and Ethereum remain stuck in a range with no clear direction during today’s trading session. The crypto market’s uncertainty has been smashing on long and short positions, but one sector is blooming under current conditions.
Bitcoin is trading at $19 360 as of the writing. There has been sideways movement all across the board. Ethereum has similar price movements in this volatile environment. Most cryptocurrencies are losing or showing lateral movement.
Bitcoin and Global Markets Crucified in 2022
A QCP Capital report states that investors who have a portfolio of cross-asset investments are experiencing the worst year. Their capital would go into the red if an investor owned Bitcoin, stocks, or gold.
The chart shows that only the assets in the energy sector are showing gains, with natural gas and crude oil leading the pack. This sector had the highest performance with 34% positive, then came crude oil (WTI), which saw a 44% increase.
Under current macroeconomic conditions, the crypto market is currently the largest loser. Bitcoin and Ethereum lost 66%, 72% and respectively. Traditional markets only have a 40% drawdown, while the Nasdaq 100 is comparable. QCP Capital stated:
Outside of energy, the breadth and correlation of underperformance is stunning – every single macro financial benchmark is underwater in real terms (…). Today, with every category of fixed income returning negative real returns – there was essentially nowhere you could have hidden out this year and beaten inflation.
Bitcoin investors, as well traditional investors, suffered minimal losses due to the fact that they kept their capital in U.S. dollar. According to the DXY Index, (DXY), the currency hit its highest point in twenty years. This caused havoc for other currencies and assets.
Investors of ETH and BTC have only one safe place to go
The options market is still thriving despite the bear market. This sector has high adoption rates. BTC/ETH and other speculative assets have led to key metrics for options reaching new highs, according to institutional investors. QCP Capital has been added
(…) crypto options trading volumes and open interest (OI) have held up so well this year, amidst a crypto winter that has seen other crypto asset class volumes decline between 70-90%. Q3 saw ETH options OI surpass its previous all-time highs. BTC OI also has performed comparatively well.
The market is uncertain and choppy. Smart money bets on volatility spikes, and then collects premiums in options. The trading firm claims that even “vanilla” strategies managed to score a profit under these conditions.
Option traders can maintain their competitive edge in the face of future volatility by sticking with the status quo on global markets.