The cryptocurrency market is witnessing an influx of speculative trading, particularly with meme coins like DOGE, PEPE and BONK experiencing extraordinary gains. 

November 2024 has marked a significant milestone for Bitcoin, with its price soaring to $94,105. This unprecedented growth has been driven by global events and heightened social media discussions, with predictions of six-figure valuations. Historically, peaks in social media chatter often precede market corrections, signaling traders to exercise caution. Currently, while whale accumulation remains strong — with wallets holding over 10 Bitcoin adding 53,006 more BTC in just one month — retail traders remain surprisingly cautious. This wary sentiment contrasts sharply with the bullish behavior usually seen during price surges, suggesting a potential correction.

The cryptocurrency market is witnessing an influx of speculative trading, particularly with meme coins like DOGE, PEPE and BONK experiencing extraordinary gains. Despite their volatility, these tokens reflect a broader appetite for high-risk investments. Notably, whale investors holding 1M–100M DOGE are accumulating, while smaller holders are selling, creating conditions for potential breakouts. However, if new capital stops flowing, these speculative assets could face significant downturns. Additionally, while discussions around Bitcoin reaching $100K are increasing, they haven’t reached the levels seen earlier this year, indicating that fear of missing out (FOMO) may not yet be fully realized.

Institutional Interest and Ethereum's Resurgence

Demand for Bitcoin ETFs has surged, with daily trading volumes hitting a record $8.21 billion, signaling increased institutional interest. This activity often coincides with market peaks, but could also indicate new investments flowing into the crypto space. Meanwhile, Ethereum has also gained momentum, breaking above $3,100 for the first time in over 14 weeks. Additionally, whale accumulation is on the rise, suggesting that as Bitcoin leads the market, profits may soon be redirected into Ethereum. In contrast, Solana's price movements remain highly sentiment-driven, with funding rates indicating potential entry points for investors. Overall, altcoins are experiencing growth, particularly following the U.S. elections, which have reignited optimism in the crypto market.

Advanced

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Bitcoin's Resurgence: Analyzing Market Dynamics and Speculative Trends in November 2024

Crypto market makers play a crucial role in providing liquidity by consistently placing buy and sell orders. Learn more about how they work here.

The cryptocurrency market is notorious for its high volatility and sometimes low liquidity, making it a challenging environment for traders and investors. Executing trades can be difficult, often resulting in significant price 

Market making is a strategic approach that provides the necessary liquidity to stabilize markets, ensuring smoother trades and reducing volatility. By creating buy and sell orders around the current market price, market makers help maintain a healthy trading ecosystem. This article examines the fundamentals of market making, its benefits for traders and exchanges and the way it enhances the overall efficiency of the cryptocurrency market.

A crypto market maker is an entity or individual who primarily provides liquidity in cryptocurrency markets by continuously placing buy and sell orders for digital assets. This activity ensures efficient trading and helps maintain stable prices.

Crypto market makers play a key role in keeping markets liquid by continuously placing buy and sell orders on exchanges. Here's a closer look at how they operate.

Key Characteristics of a Crypto Market Maker

Crypto market makers provide liquidity and stabilize prices in the cryptocurrency market. The following are the key traits that enable them to operate effectively.

Market makers continually place buy and sell orders, ensuring the availability of transactions for traders. This constant availability reduces wait times for trades and minimizes the price impact of large orders, making the market more efficient and accessible for everyone.

One of the fundamental roles of market makers is that of managing the bid-ask spread. By consistently quoting competitive prices, they narrow this spread, thereby enhancing trading efficiency and reducing costs for other market participants. This spread is also their primary source of profit.

Market makers leverage advanced algorithms and HFT strategies to analyze market conditions and optimize their order placements. This technology allows them to react swiftly to price changes and maintain a balanced inventory of assets, which helps to manage risk and maximize profitability.

Due to the inherent volatility of cryptocurrency markets, effective risk management is vital for market makers. They employ various techniques, such as hedging and real-time market analysis, to minimize exposure to sudden price swings. This ensures their operations remain stable even in the face of market fluctuations.

By providing continuous liquidity and facilitating smooth trading operations, market makers enhance overall market efficiency. Their presence attracts more traders, which increases transaction volumes, boosts exchange activity and contributes to a healthier trading environment.

Given the quickly evolving nature of the cryptocurrency landscape, market makers must be adaptable, continually refining their strategies in response to new technologies, regulatory changes and shifts in market dynamics. This ensures they remain competitive and relevant.

Crypto market makers play a critical role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem by providing liquidity and stabilizing prices. Despite the integral role they play, however, their operations come with both advantages and disadvantages. 

Additional Importance of a Crypto Market Maker

Crypto market makers play a vital role in maintaining the efficiency and stability of the cryptocurrency market. Their presence on crypto exchanges ensures trading environments operate smoothly. 

Newer and smaller cryptocurrencies often struggle with liquidity. Market makers provide a market for these assets, promoting their growth and creating a more diverse and dynamic crypto ecosystem.

Through continual quoting of prices, market makers aid in fair price discovery, ensuring that cryptocurrency prices reflect actual market demand rather than extreme fluctuations. This promotes a more trustworthy and transparent trading environment that allows traders to make data-backed decisions. 

Crypto market makers are essential players in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, providing liquidity, stabilizing prices and ensuring smooth trade execution. Their use of advanced algorithms and real-time order placements encourages a more efficient, accessible and fair market. However, risks such as market manipulation, potential capital loss and lack of regulation can be problematic. Overall, the role of market makers in supporting emerging assets and maintaining market stability makes them indispensable for a healthy and growing crypto environment.

Intermediate

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Crypto Market Maker: Boosting Trades With Strategic Liquidity

SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced he will resign on January 20, 2025, coinciding with President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

The S&P 500 rose 0.53% as investors shifted toward cyclical stocks expected to benefit from a strengthening economy, while technology shares lagged. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was up by 4.79%, with Bitcoin and Ether rising by  4.19% and 8.75%, respectively in the past 24 hours.

Today's top performer is XRP, which surged 24.3% following the partnership between Ripple and MCSocialVenture to boost financial resilience and access in emerging markets.

Ripple (XRP), launched in August 2012, is a blockchain technology company focused on improving international payments with its cryptocurrency, XRP. 

, focused on investing in emerging market entrepreneurs. The initiative will pilot financial resilience and humanitarian solutions built on the XRPL, aiming to advance equitable access to finance.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

 he will resign on January 20, 2025, coinciding with President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. Gensler, whose term runs until 2026, faced pressure from the crypto lobby due to the SEC’s strict regulatory actions against the industry, including high-profile cases against Coinbase and Binance. Gensler’s departure is seen as a victory for crypto advocates, who hope the next SEC chair will be more crypto-friendly. Trump has hinted at firing Gensler on his first day in office and is expected to appoint a chair with expertise in crypto, such as Mark Uyeda, Hester Peirce, or Chris Giancarlo.

Yesterday, BTC Spot ETF data revealed a net inflow of $396.7 million, driven by $404.5 million from non-GBTC sources, partially offset by a $7.8 million outflow from GBTC..

 for those who participated. To claim, visit 

 using code B0FKOP. Additionally, Morph Zoo Season 2 has launched on mainnet, allowing users to earn points by bridging ETH or executing transactions on Morph. The Bitget Wallet offers a 1.2x multiplier on points to maximize rewards.

Beginner

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SEC Chair Gary Gensler to Resign on Inauguration Day, Marking a Win for Crypto Lobby

Traders seem to expect BTC’s momentum could slow down a bit after the price hit over $97,000.

Positive sentiment has continued to fuel the cryptocurrency market as the expectation of further institutional adoption of 

 keeps growing. Options trading of BlackRock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF IBIT 

 with a bang, attracting almost $2 billion on the first day of trading. The hope of more spot ETF derivatives to change the market structure with additional institutional money onboarding crypto is high.

, we explored the possibility of the market being overleveraged, which could be painful if the current leverage unwinds. Data from CryptoQuant shows that the estimated leverage of the current BTC markets has reached another YTD high.

Derivatives data on Bybit shows that traders seem to expect that BTC’s momentum could slow down a bit after the price hit over $97,000, and are focusing more on downside protection.

Figure 1: Bitcoin estimated leverage ratio at 0.23. Source: CryptoQuant

BTC Options Open Interest Returns to Previous High While Perps Are Catching Up

Derivatives traders have been actively participating in BTC markets as 

 on Bybit has surged to over $3 billion, on par with the previous high on Nov 14, 2024. Although the options OI has increased, it still hasn’t surged above the previous high. At the time, BTC’s price had already jumped to over $97,000. If the OI doesn’t follow suit and break above the previous high in the coming days, this could be a sign that the market could become a bit exhausted — something for all market participants to be aware of.

Figure 2: Daily open interest for BTC options on Bybit. Source: Bybit

 have also seen increased open interest in recent days. Perpetuals have been among the most favorable products for day traders and short-term speculators. Rising open interest could indicate that more traders are looking for short-term profit, which could bring additional volatility to the market. 

Figure 3: Daily open interest for BTCUSDT Perpetuals on Bybit. Source: Bybit

Dec 27, 2024 remains the most popular expiration date for BTC Options on Bybit, with most of the open interest there. Within that expiration, $120,000 calls had the most OI, and $100,000 calls accumulated the second-largest OI. 

Figure 4: Open interest by strike for BTC Options with a Dec 27, 2024 expiration. Source: Bybit

Meanwhile, the market’s optimism that BTC will hit $100,000 by the end of the year seems to support the current price momentum. Shorter-dated options could show that traders are also looking for downside protection. The Bybit 

 page shows that BTC Options with a Nov 29, 2024 expiration have a strong 24-hour inflow to $90,000 puts. This could indicate that some traders are also anticipating some degree of price correction by the end of the month. 

Figure 5: 24-hour volume by strike for BTC Options with a Nov 29, 2024 expiration on Bybit. Source: Bybit

 for BTC Options on Bybit also indicates a possible downside protection in play among options traders. A smirk skew, or left skew, is a skew curve that’s steeper on one side (the left side) than the other. Traditionally, a smirk skew curve could mean that traders have been protecting their portfolios against a possible declining market. At the time of this writing (Nov 21, 2024), BTC Options contracts on Bybit with Nov 29, 2024 and Dec 27, 2024 expirations have both shown a smirk skew. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean traders are bearish on the price, and could just be part of the trading strategy. For example, traders could set up collars by buying out-of-the-money (OTM) puts and selling OTM calls simultaneously, so that they can profit in case BTC’s price drops, gain upside exposure and potentially offset the cost of buying the puts. 

Figure 6: Implied volatility of BTC Options with Nov 29, 2024 and Dec 27, 2024 expirations. Source: Bybit

The current BTC leverage trading may be complex, but tells a revealing narrative about market sentiment. The divergence between high leverage and increased hedging activities also reminds us that market dynamics are rarely straightforward, and adopting a 

 seems increasingly important in this diverse market.

: Investing in cryptocurrencies and their derivatives involves substantial risk of loss, and isn’t suitable for every investor. This article provides facts for educational purposes only, and does not represent any financial advice. Prior to making any investment decisions, please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent advice if necessary. Our customer support team is available to assist you with any inquiries.

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Learn From Smart Money: BTC’s Leverage Remains High as Traders Hedge Against Downside Risks

DeFi

Altcoins

Explainers

Velar is a liquidity protocol that offers a comprehensive suite of DeFi services on the Bitcoin blockchain via the smart contract–capable Stacks Layer 2 platform. 

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) blockchain was never intended to accommodate 

, limiting the potential for decentralized applications (

) in burgeoning sectors like decentralized finance (

 (STX) Layer 2 platform in 2018 was a major initiative to address this limitation. For the first time ever, DApps to leverage Bitcoin and its security mechanism became feasible, all thanks to the Stacks project.

In 2023, Velar, a leading DeFi app on Stacks, introduced its beta mainnet, offering various services that include automated market maker (

. Velar’s DeFi liquidity services utilize Stacks’ smart contracts and enjoy the 

 and finality of the Bitcoin Layer 1 network — efficiency meets security!

Backed by Bitcoin’s famed security, decentralization and vast but underutilized liquidity, Velar may very well become a major competitor to the established Ethereum (

)-based DeFi giants, challenging their dominance in the near future.

 is a liquidity protocol that offers a comprehensive suite of DeFi services on the Bitcoin blockchain via the smart contract–capable Stacks Layer 2 platform. 

Velar utilizes an AMM liquidity model and offers token swaps, 

Velar’s first version, Dharma, debuted its beta mainnet in July 2023, unveiling a liquidity engine modeled after 

 (UNI) v2 — one of the most popular AMM engines in the DEX niche. Velar’s team has outlined their vision for the platform’s future versions. The second version, Artha, is a perpetual derivatives exchange that allows up to 20x leverage and features an updated liquidity engine modeled after Uniswap v3. It also offers a new governance model and a cross-chain bridge. Specific features of the third (Kama) and fourth (Moksha) versions will be announced in the future.

Velar is a rare platform that offers a suite of full-fledged DeFi services for Bitcoin’s ecosystem. Its Dharma v1 Testnet, conducted from June 13 to July 20, 2023, attracted 165,000 users — an absolute record for a Bitcoin DeFi testnet and a clear testament to Velar’s big market potential.

 (L2) platform’s smart contract functionality to enable its DeFi services. At the same time, the platform is designed to be L2-agnostic, which means that it’s not necessarily limited to Stacks only. The project team has stated that Velar might be enabled on other L2 platforms linked to the Bitcoin network in the future.

Velar features 100% Bitcoin finality, meaning that all the operations related to transaction block ordering and finalization are handled on Bitcoin’s own 

 (L1) network. This ensures that Velar’s transactions are thoroughly protected by the security mechanism and decentralized consensus system offered by Bitcoin, a platform some regard as the most secure among all blockchain networks.

At the same time, the Stacks platform’s smart contract functionality allows Velar to offer sophisticated DeFi functions like AMM pools, a staking mechanism, and liquidity farming. Velar’s current liquidity engine is based on a standard AMM setup. In the next version, Velar Artha, the engine will include an additional functionality for concentrated liquidity. Concentrated liquidity allows users to add funds/liquidity to trading pools within specific price ranges to optimize their liquidity yields.

Velar Dharma, the first and current version of the platform, is a decentralized exchange (

) that features five key products available to crypto enthusiasts willing to become Bitcoin DeFi pioneers: token swaps, liquidity provision, staking, 

The swap service allows you to easily trade cryptocurrencies, taking advantage of low fees and low 

 rates, thanks to the app’s efficient AMM engine. Currently, the exchange is still in the early stages of operation and offers four tokens for swaps — Stacks’ native STX token, 

. New assets will likely be added to the list as the project matures.

Velar also offers a few different ways of contributing liquidity and earning income from it. You can add liquidity to trading pair pools to earn a share of revenue from swap operations, and earn yields from contributing to the STX liquidity farm. In the future, staking VELAR, the platform’s planned native token, will also allow you to earn rewards and participate in the platform’s governance processes.

Finally, if you’ve ever mused over investing in new tokens that leverage Bitcoin for DeFi, Velar offers an IDO launchpad you might want to check out.

The platform’s native cryptocurrency, the VELAR token, is designed for a variety of functions, which include 

 in the future. Its current use cases are liquidity provision, payments for products and services within the app’s ecosystem, and access to premium services, such as priority customer support, DApp discounts and exclusive access to early offers.

The VELAR token’s total and maximum supply is 1 billion, with distribution shares as follows:

The VELAR crypto could be a sound investment choice, based on the following:

1. Velar is the first AMM-based DeFi platform for the Bitcoin ecosystem. It offers an efficient liquidity model (similar to the one used by Uniswap v2) and 100% Bitcoin finality, and could leverage its first-mover advantage in this emerging niche.

2. The platform’s planned perpetual derivatives exchange will be another novel product for Bitcoin DeFi users. PerpDEX will support using native BTC as 

, opening up opportunities to tap into at least some of Bitcoin’s vast $1.3 trillion in liquidity — of which virtually none (or only a tiny portion) is currently involved in DeFi.

3. Velar’s enormously successful record-setting testnet in mid-2023 is another clear signal that the platform and its future token hold significant growth potential.

4. Velar's potential is already being recognized in the industry, with the project 

 — a leading Bitcoin startup accelerator — in mid-2023.

Nevertheless, as the crypto market is known for its volatility, it’s crucial to conduct 

. Additionally, you may want to consider diversifying your investments with 

Users interested in VELAR can sign up for a Bybit account and trade with Bybit Spot for the VELAR/USDT pair from Apr 3, 

. However, since VELAR is the latest coin listing via Bybit Launchpad, investors who participate in the event being held from Mar 28 to Apr 3, 2024, must adhere to the following requirements: 

Please note that Identity Verification must be completed before the subscription period begins on Apr 3, 2024, 3:30AM UTC.

We’re currently witnessing the dawn of a new era in the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem, with emerging DeFi opportunities on the horizon. Among the pioneers of the DeFi landscape for Bitcoin, Velar is shaping up as a true leader. Its platform's advantages are numerous — complete Bitcoin finality, the agnostic nature of its L2 setup, an efficient AMM modeled after Uniswap and the variety of services it offers.

Moreover, the upgrade to Velar Artha will introduce innovative features: a perpetuals trading DEX and a concentrated liquidity model. With this impressive suite of services and features, Velar has an excellent chance of becoming the Bitcoin DeFi leader, as well as a serious competitor to Ethereum's DeFi heavyweights. Uniswap and 

Velar (VELAR): Leading the Charge in DeFi Innovation on Bitcoin

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards