CoinDesk 20 Index: 1,831.41 +2.21%
Bitcoin (BTC): $58,088.29 +2.45%
Ether (ETH): $2,345.28 +0.99%
S&P 500: 5,554.13 +1.07%
Gold: $2,515.67 +0.11%
Nikkei 225: 36,833.27 +3.41%

Bitcoin rose above $58,000 on the back of a rally in U.S. technology stocks. U.S. inflation data on Wednesday seemed to solidify the prospect of a 25 basis-point interest-rate cut by the Fed this month, following which Nvidia, Microsoft, Google and Apple all registered gains. BTC is currently priced just above $58,000, 2.4% higher in the last 24 hours, while the broader crypto market has risen about 2.2%, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index. However, bitcoin ETFs' inflow streak was halted after just two days, registering outflows of $43 million on Wednesday.

Leverage in the bitcoin market is increasing again, suggesting traders are looking to take on more risk. The estimated leverage ratio, which divides global futures open interest by the number of coins held on exchanges, jumped to 0.2060, the highest since October 2023, according to CryptoQuant. There was previously a months-long consolidation below 0.2, suggesting a more cautious approach. The increase indicates there is potentially more volatility being injected into the market. High-leverage liquidity is stacked at around $58,500, according to Hyblock Capital. So volatility could pick up once BTC approaches that level, especially because overall market liquidity remains low. That means a buy/sell order can have an outsized impact on the going market rate.

DeFi platform Pendle has started offering pools with variable yields of as high as 45% on a bitcoin-backed token in a move that expands the product’s fundamentals. The offering, which can also provide fixed yields of an annualized 10%, allows users to deposit LBTC, a liquid-staking token issued by restaking startup Lombard, in a Pendle pool made by Ethereum layer-2 network Corn. Data shows the pool has attracted over $13 million in user deposits since going live. It matures on Dec. 26. Lombard is a restaking service that converts wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) to a Lombard Bitcoin (LBTC) token that can be used in DeFi applications to capture yield. Corn, another startup, is a network that uses bitcoin as the main token to pay usage fees.

Bitcoin bargain hunters are active on Kraken and Coinbase, snapping up coins at perceived discounts amid selling pressure from other exchanges.

The buy-sell ratio, which compares the volume of buy-to-sell orders on Kraken and Coinbase, has averaged 250% and 123%, respectively, this month, according to London-based CCData. A ratio above 100% indicates more demand from buyers than sellers are supplying, suggesting net bullish pressure.

"The average buy-sell ratio suggests stronger buying pressure on Kraken and Coinbase, with ratios of 250% and 123%, respectively, compared to near-parity on Bybit and Binance, which have ratios of 99% and 97%," Hosam Mahmoud, research analyst at CCData told CoinDesk in an interview.

"Although these observations don't lead to a definitive conclusion, they imply that Kraken and Coinbase have recently been the preferred venues for accumulation," Mahmoud added.

The average trade size for bitcoin-tether is $898 and $747 on Bybit and Binance respectively, compared with $2,148 and $1,321 on Kraken and Coinbase. This indicates that the latter two are likely attracting trades from institutional or long-term investors.

- Omkar Godbole