Bakkt may have started on a low note when it was launched on September 23, but it has slowly picked up the pace and is setting new records every so often. Now yesterday, Bakkt hit a new all-time-high as bitcoin slipped below $9,000. At press time, the top crypto is trading at $8,862, down 2.18% on the day while its market cap stands at $159.86 billion.
Bitcoin Slides Below $9,000 For The First Time In 14 Days
Bitcoin plunged by more than 5% on Friday, sliding below the psychological $9,000 mark. All week, bitcoin had been stalling around the $9,200 range, indecisive about the next move to take. On Friday, BTC made a move, although it is not what many were hoping for. Bitcoin slid to as low as $8,600 but has since recovered slightly. However, analysts are still uncertain about the potential catalyst(s) needed to jumpstart the recovery above $9,000.
A slew of narratives and responses have since emerged regarding bitcoin’s move below $9,000.
According to some watchers, this drop was as a result of margin calls causing liquidation and thus increasing the selling pressure. For others, the decision by the Fed to pause on the rate cuts after three cuts in a row has reduced the demand for bitcoin as a potential hedge.
The always bitcoin-bearish gold bug Peter Schiff did not pass this chance to throw in his bearish sentiment. The CEO of Euro Pacific Capital took to Twitter to mock the 5% drop, stating:
“It looks like the #Bitcoin pump is over. Get ready for the dump!”
In a bid to completely destroy the hopes of bitcoin enthusiasts, he shared another gloom and doom prediction for the largest cryptocurrency:
“Keep dreaming. Bitcoin is never going to hit $100,000,” he wrote in a separate tweet.
But it seems bitcoin is not the only asset that has had a rough week. The price of gold – Schiff’s asset of choice – is also declining owing to the growing trade optimism over the US and China trade negotiations which have increased investors’ appetite for riskier trade assets.
Bakkt Is On A Roll
As bitcoin unexpectedly dropped below $9,000 yesterday, Bakkt trading volume posted a new all-time high. On Friday, Bakkt set a new all-time high with 1756 bitcoin futures contracts. While this is not incredibly high, it shows that institutional investors are beginning to seriously take long positions of bitcoin.
Such institutional investors have long been considered as part of the cryptocurrency holy trinity of mass crypto adoption alongside approval from governments and increased retail interest.
Interestingly enough, the piquing interest in bitcoin by institutional investors can be seen across the board. Besides Bakkt, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has also been making a splash this month. Moreover, bitcoin futures contracts on the platform have more than doubled since the third quarter of 2018.
On the flip side, the new record set on Bakkt bitcoin futures contracts indicates that there is a surging level of demand for bitcoin by institutional investors despite the recent slump.
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