Bitcoin Roars Past $20k in Surprise Surge. Can the Rally Last?
Crypto investors have been starved for good news for months, and late on Friday they finally got some: Bitcoin unexpectedly soared past the $20,000 mark for the first time since the calamitous implosion of the FTX exchange last November.
Crypto investors have been starved for good news for months, and late on Friday they finally got some: Bitcoin unexpectedly soared past the $20,000 mark for the first time since the calamitous implosion of the FTX exchange last November.
Expectations for bitcoin's (BTC) price over the next six months have turned positive after a long time, in another sign of confidence in the cryptocurrency's latest bull revival. Bitcoin's 180-day call-put skew has crossed above zero for the first time since the start of 2021, indicating that bullish call options expiring in six months have become pricier than bearish put options.
The skew measures the price for calls relative to puts and is a good measure of the consensus for six months ahead, as both institutions and retail investors use options to speculate and hedge against future shifts in the price of the cryptocurrency. This is a measure of market sentiment and flows, because it encapsulates what people are willing to pay to acquire an asymmetric payout on either the upward or downward direction of the market.
China’s Reopening Comes With a $720 Billion Inflation Bomb
In China, the reopening of the economy is coming at a time when its central bank is in easing mode – potentially making it all the more inflationary.
U.S. Economy Losing Momentum As Retail Sales Post Biggest Drop In 12 Months
U.S. retail sales fell by the most in a year in December, pulled down by declines in purchases of motor vehicles and a range of other goods, putting consumer spending and the overall economy on a weaker growth path heading into 2023.
China's Population is Shrinking. The Impact Will be Felt around the World
China may be one step closer to losing its place as the world's most populous country to India after its population shrank for the first time since the 1960s.
