A Bitcoin Bull Run?CME: Micro BTC Futures ( CME:MBT1! ), Micro ETH Futures ( CME:MET1! )
This Monday, bitcoin jumped above $49,000 for the first time in a year, and quickly extended its gains and broke through the $50,000 level. By Wednesday, bitcoin shot up again, pushing above $52,000 in morning session.
In the past few months, the benchmark cryptocurrency has experienced a “Buying the Rumor and Selling the News” phenomenon. In anticipation of the SEC approval of spot bitcoin ETFs, bitcoin nearly doubled in a matter of just three months, rising from $24,830 in early September to $48,960 in mid-January.
On January 15th, when the SEC finally approved the listing of 11 bitcoin ETFs, a huge selloff followed. Bitcoin had gained 156% in 2023 and rose 16% further in January. Instead of riding higher with the good news, investors chose to sell and book profits. Bitcoin tumbled 21% from its recent peak and touched $38,530 on January 24th.
My recent trade idea, “BTC: Buy the Rumor and Sell the News”, observed three such occurrences in bitcoin’s brief history.
After the dust was settled, cyclical volatility gave way to secular growth. Economic fundamentals are at work here: when it comes to Bitcoin, there is finite supply and a growing demand. At the daily high of $52,079 on Wednesday, bitcoin has already bounced back 35% within a month.
Cathie Wood, whose ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF is among the 11 approved ETFs, predicted that Bitcoin prices would reach $600K by 2030. While this lofty price level may sound far-fetched now, I think it is entirely plausible for bitcoin to revisit its all-time-high of $68,982.20. It would not surprise me to see a new all-time high (ATH) record in the next few months.
Key Drivers for Bitcoin’s Long-term Rise
In my opinion, a secular long-term bull market for cryptocurrencies has already emerged. The case for rising bitcoin prices is supported by solid fundamental strength:
Firstly, there is a limited supply of bitcoins with a total cap of 21 million.
Currently, around 19 million bitcoins have been mined and are in circulation, leaving approximately 2 million left to be mined. This makes bitcoin superior to fiat currencies, whose supply could be increased by central banks, with or without limits.
Secondly, the demand for crypto investment could increase substantially.
With bitcoin now a SEC-regulated investment asset, the biggest hurdle for participation has been removed. Investors may now buy spot bitcoin, bitcoin futures, bitcoin options, and bitcoin ETFs from their brokerage accounts and trade on regulated US Exchanges. Outstanding performance of both Bitcoin and Ethereum could speed up the asset rotation.
Thirdly, an excessive dollar supply could help raise bitcoin prices. This is an important point and deserves a thorough explanation.
The US Federal Government is currently running a budget deficit to the tune of $1.5-2.0 trillion a year. By borrowing, it is injecting vast amounts of new dollars into the financial system.
In boom time, these dollars will flow to businesses and households in the forms of new investment and new consumption. However, as the economy slows down and the cost of borrowing remains high, they are reluctant to incur more debt.
Commercial banks are left holding excessive cash in their books. Facing reduced loan interest income, they would seek to boost investment returns. As conservative investors, banks typically put money in Treasury bonds, high-grade corporate bonds, and Blue-Chip stocks.
Now that Bitcoin is sanctioned by the SEC, banks could legally invest in the spot ETFs offered by top-rated asset managers. Although the bank purchases bitcoin indirectly through an ETF, it would pass through to spot bitcoin. With the sheer size of bank assets, a small percentage of asset allocation could increase bitcoin demand substantially.
Trading with Micro BTC and ETH Futures
In my opinion, both Bitcoin and Ethereum are set up for a long-term marathon bull run. Just like commercial banks, individual investors could consider adding Bitcoin and Ethereum (or the spot ETFs) to their long-term investment portfolio.
Speculative traders share my view. “Leveraged Funds” had total long positions of 7,120 on bitcoin futures, vs. 3,147 short positions, in the week of February 6th, according to the Commitment of Trader (COT) report published by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The 2.3-to-1 long/short ratio indicates bullish sentiment.
There is a problem: with bitcoin already tripling in prices, the price increases going forward do not offer the same level of return dollar-for-dollar. Hypothetically, if bitcoin rises to SWB:69K from GETTEX:52K , the $17,000 gain would equal to 33% in return. If you bought bitcoin for $17K in December 2022, the same dollar gain would be 100% in return. To counter the effect of higher prices, investors could consider using leverage.
CME Micro BTC futures ( PSE:MBT ) provide leverage and capital efficiency. The contract notional is 1/10 of 1 BTC. Initial margin is $980. The June contract (MBTM4) was last quoted at $53,575. At current price there is a 5.5 times leverage built in the contract, which is the ratio of 5,357.5 (1/10 of 1 BTC) divided by 980. If the futures price touches the previous ATH at approximately $69,000, a long futures position would gain $1,542 (= 6900-5358), and the return would be a 157% return, using the $980 margin as a cost base.
For a comparison, investing in 1/10 of a spot bitcoin or bitcoin ETF would gain $1,700 (= 6900-5200), but the return would be 33% only (= 1700/5200), without the leverage.
Similarly, CME Micro Ether futures ( NYSE:MET ) also provide leverage and capital efficiency. The contract notional is 1/10 of 1 ETH. Initial margin is $62. The April contract (METJ4) was last quoted at $2,802. At the current price there is a 4.5 times leverage built in the contract, which is the ratio of 280 (1/10 of 1 ETH) divided by 62. If the futures price touches 3,500, a long futures position would gain $70 (= 350-280), and the return would be a 113% return, using the $62 margin as a cost base.
For a comparison, investing in 1/10 of a spot Ethereum would gain $75 (= 350-275), but the return would be 27% only (= 86/267), without the leverage.
Happy Trading.
Disclaimers
*Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
