Quick take:
- Bitcoin usually experiences low trade volume during the week of CME Futures expiration.
- BTC CME Futures expire on the last Friday of each trading month.
- Bitcoin’s battle to retain $9,000 will be tested in the next few hours and days.
Crypto traders who have been analyzing Bitcoin since the CME Group started offering BTC Futures in late 2017, know that the expiration of these contracts on the last Friday of the month has an impact on the price of Bitcoin. Over the years, this known fact has been used by savvy traders to either short Bitcoin a few days before the CME futures expire, or to stay out of the market completely until the event is done.
CME Bitcoin Futures Expire on the 29th of May
With respect to the month of May, the CME Bitcoin futures expire on the 29th of May. This is five days from now and BTC will have a tense week ahead as it attempts to keep its head above the $8,500 area that would signal a bear market. The screenshot below provides the expiration dates of the CME Bitcoin futures for the rest of 2020.
Bitcoin’s Battle for $9k Continues
At the time of writing this, Bitcoin is currently holding the $8,900 zone as crucial support and trading at $8,980 – Binance rate. Further checking the daily BTC/USDT chart courtesy of Tradingview.com, we observe the following.
- The earlier identified Golden Cross is showing signs of weakness as all moving averages look set to embrace a downward shift in price.
- Trade volume has decreased over the last few days with a lot of selling involved.
- $8,500 area provides strong support for Bitcoin and is also the 0.236 retracement level from the $10,000 local top.
- Both MACD and MFI also point towards a bearish few days.
- Other areas of support include $8,800, $8,600, $8,300 and $8,100.
- $9,050 is the current short term resistance.
As with all technical analyses of Bitcoin, investors and traders are advised to implement risk management strategies as well as stop losses to protect their capital.