Appetite for Bitcoin soars after Powell speech, says Bitfinex analysts

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Bitcoin (BTC) prices and the broader crypto market surged on Aug. 23, continuing the recovery that began in early August. The dovish remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium fueled the expectations of a rate cut in September, adding risk appetite to investors.

According to the “Bitfinex Alpha” latest edition, BTC registered a 6.06% daily gain on Aug. 23, marking the second-highest daily move since May 20, which consolidates the return of risk appetite to markets.

Notably, the rally comes after a period of increased correlation with the equity market since July 12.

Yet, despite the recent surge, BTC has been relatively weaker than equities since the Aug. 5 capitulation low. The SPX reclaimed its Aug. 1 high and monthly open levels on August 15, while BTC only reached the $65,000 mark on Friday.

The second-largest daily short liquidations of BTC perpetual futures was registered on Aug. 23, with $40 million wiped out. Total liquidations across all pairs exceeded $140 million.

Open interest for BTC pairs across exchanges reached an all-time high of over $39 billion on Mar. 29 but dropped to its lowest level since the all-time high on Aug. 5, shrinking to $26.65 billion. This decrease suggests a withdrawal of trading activity or reduced leverage in the market.

The relatively lower amount of leveraged longs in the market explains why funding rates are increasingly negative at prices between $60,000 to $65,000, contrary to March when BTC saw the highest funding rates in its history at similar price levels.

In altcoin markets, the average funding rate across large-cap alts is currently at 8.1% as of Aug. 25, compared to 60-70% APR in March-April.

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This article first appeared at Crypto Briefing