Institutional Longs on Bitcoin Price Grow as Bear Momentum Wanes

Despite the harrowing price drop seen in late September, institutions are expecting for the Bitcoin (BTC) price to soon head higher — at least for institutions involved in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures market.

Industry analytics provider Skew recently observed that long positions held by institutional accounts — pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, mutual funds & portfolio/investment managers with institutional clients — have begun to rise again in October after nearly falling to zero BTC. Right now, this subset’s long holdings sit at just over 1,100 BTC.

Long positions held by institutional accounts at the CME have been rising again in October.

For reference, institutions include pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, mutual funds & portfolio/investment managers whose clients are predominantly institutional. pic.twitter.com/96N2XZwo9e

— skew (@skewdotcom) October 20, 2019

Bitcoin Bull Case Gains Traction

The trend Skew observed comes as Bitcoin’s bull case has begun to grow once again. For instance, a partner at Bitazu Capital recently found that BTC’s price is nearing a bottom. He noted that a number of technical indicators suggest that the bear trend is about to reverse.

The fundamental side of the Bitcoin story is also gaining traction. On Friday, Abigail Johnson, chief executive of Fidelity Investments, told Financial Times that the firm’s cryptocurrency branch will finally be rolling out its Bitcoin and cryptocurrency custodial and trade execution services to all qualified accounts — institutional players.

Johnson also said that she believes that Bitcoin is not a mere trend and is instead here to stay:

“It’s not going away. As long as the value is there, people will look to preserve that value.”

Not In The Clear Just Yet

While the bull case for Bitcoin is growing, this market is not in the clear just yet.

Per previous reports from this very outlet, a “death cross,” which is when a short-term moving average crosses below a long-term moving average for an asset, is forming on the Bitcoin chart. Should this technical pattern come to fruition on Bitcoin’s chart, it will show that bears have control of this market. As a trader pointed out, the last BTC death cross, which was observed in 2018, marked the commencement of a long-term price correction.

Also, Peter Schiff, a prominent libertarian investor, has suggested that  BTC’s price chart “looks horrible.”

Schiff, in fact, remarked that the “(bear) flag that followed the recent breakdown projects a move to $6,000,” which would imply a 25% drop from current levels if this move pans out. He even added that not only has Bitcoin fallen below a flag, “but we are [also] close to completing the right shoulder of a head and shoulders top … that projects a collapse below $2,000.”

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