Cryptoverse: Listless bitcoin seeks summer spark

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

bitcoin investors. Watch. Wait. Don't make the first move. The capricious cryptocurrency's been uncommonly quiet over the past four weeks, bound in the range of $28,452 and $25,800. Even the end of the U.S. debt ceiling saga did little to whet risk appetite. Bitcoin's volatility index is near 64, well below the 2023 peak of 116.5 touched in January, according to CryptoCompare. Overall daily cryptocurrency spot trading volumes — above $20 billion for most of the year — have languished at around $10.6-$12 billion in the last two weeks, data from The Block shows. The data signals a reluctance of investors and traders to take positions in either spot or derivatives, said Noelle Acheson, an economist who has tracked the crypto sector for seven years.

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This was echoed by Matthew Weller, global head of research at financial services group StoneX. «Looking at bitcoin's chart, traders are waiting for a definitive break away from the $27,000 level that has magnetically pulled prices back consistently,» he said. The world's biggest cryptocurrency is still the best-performing asset of 2023, with gains of about 62%. Yet it has slid nearly 14% from a peak of $31,035 in April, keeping nervy traders guessing about its next move.STILL WATERS RUN DEEP? «The lack of anything interesting is also interesting,» said Luuk Strijers, chief commercial officer at derivatives exchange Deribit. Bitcoin's 7-day and 30-day implied