24 Apr Market Wrap: Bitcoin Gains as Futures Dance the Contango
Bitcoin futures are showing signs the market is more optimistic on the cryptocurrency. On Thursday, prices for further-dated futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) were higher than near-dated ones. The term structure, known as contango, is usually taken as a bullish signal.
The world’s oldest cryptocurrency popped 10 percent Thursday ahead of April CME futures expiration, from $7,018 to as high as $7,765 on retail-friendly spot exchanges like Coinbase. The CME April contract settled at $7,115 on Thursday while those for May delivery came in $40 higher, indicating a positive outlook.
“Leveraged demand is back with a vengeance today, with the futures term structure shifting back into contango, after a trigger of stops on the break of $7,500 sent bitcoin all the way to the $7,800 level,” said Denis Vinokourov, head of research for cryptocurrency brokerage and exchange Bequant.
Earlier in the week, further-dated contracts were trading at a discount to the…