Bitcoin hit a new all-time high in January 2025, experiencing a maximum drawdown of $36,000.

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high in January 2025, experiencing a maximum drawdown of $36,000. Remarkably, it took just three months for Bitcoin to recover. During this period, it showed more resilience than equities did. In contrast, altcoins have yet to make significant gains. 

 remains unchallenged in this market cycle. The main factor driving this trend is clear: institutional investors are increasingly investing in cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin is the primary beneficiary of this shift.

Bitcoin production is approximately 400 units daily, totaling around 36,000 units quarterly. In Q1 2025, Strategy alone acquired 81,875 units.

Since November 2024, the AUM of Spot Bitcoin ETFs has increased from $56 billion to $134 billion, equivalent to 780,000 units of additional spot Bitcoin purchase, assuming $100,000 per unit, suggesting 300,000 units per quarter.

Despite recent 13F disclosures that present a mixed picture: whereas the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) sold its 3,400 BTC-equivalent holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ: IBIT), the Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi increased its holdings in IBIT from 4,700 to 5,000 BTC-equivalent.

Combining the additions from Spot Bitcoin ETFs and Strategy, we can clearly see that new production of Bitcoin can’t keep up with the demand, so that established Bitcoin holders have to give up their existing positions to new investors. What’s more, we haven’t yet counted the purchase of Bitcoin by Metaplanet or Semler Scientific, and more companies are expected to follow suit.

Nonetheless, we’ve seen most Bitcoin HODLers continue to hold, meaning existing investors tend not to sell their Bitcoin holdings — which puts pressure (known as a liquidity squeeze) on the liquidity supply of Bitcoin. 

Although Bitcoin’s scarcity has propelled it toward a new high, macro factors still matter. Despite its status as 

, in our view, Bitcoin remains a risky asset because it doesn’t generate cash flows as other equities do.

The US and China formally announced a 90-day reduction in tariff rates, with levies on Chinese goods falling to 30%. Negotiating a trade deal with China (arguably the most challenging negotiation on the US’s docket) resulted in a sustained period of renewed optimism that both Wall Street and crypto markets could benefit from. During that period, we saw a material shift in sentiment in Bitcoin’s derivatives market.

A Standard Chartered analyst predicts that the price of each Bitcoin unit will reach $120,000 by 2025. Several other analysts predict $200,000-per-unit BTC within 2025.

Bybit predicts a medium target of around $150,000, referencing the drawdown from the 2024 cycle.

For a long-term investor, it’s more fundamental to focus on the five-year target. 

 predicts a target of $300,000 by 2025. That said, it’s beneficial to take note of gold’s $22.5 trillion market cap. If Bitcoin had the same market capitalization as gold, it would be worth approximately $1 million per unit. In five years, even if it only matches half of gold’s market cap, Bitcoin’s target price will be $500,000.

Advanced

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Bybit Crypto Insights Report: Bitcoin is set to new highs in 2025 with a short-term target at $135,000

Bitcoin dominated the crypto bull runs of 2015-18 and 2019-22, but both cycles eventually shifted capital into altcoins, creating ‘Altseason’—a period of altcoin outperformance. 

Bitcoin dominated the crypto bull runs of 2015-18 and 2019-22, but both cycles eventually shifted capital into altcoins, creating ‘Altseason’—a period of altcoin outperformance. Ethereum, as the second-largest cryptocurrency, has typically led this rotation. However, the current cycle (2022-present) is unique, lacking a significant shift from Bitcoin to Ethereum, resulting in no sustained outperformance for ETH.

Historically, ETH surged from $8 to $1,448 between January 2017 and 2018, and from $738 to $4,800 by November 2021. Ethereum’s recent rally, beginning on May 7, 2025, raised questions about its 50% rise in a week and whether it signals an altseason. This report analyzes the current ETH breakout and contextualizes this rally against historical trends.

Ether’s outperformance doesnt suggest an altcoin season coming

Historically, crypto cycles start with Bitcoin reclaiming its all-time high, leading to a euphoric phase before a major crash. Capital then rotates from Bitcoin into Ethereum and other large-cap assets, usually about 200 days after a Bitcoin halving.

In early May 2025, we saw initial signs of euphoria, but Ethereum's rally has not achieved the market-cap dominance of previous cycles. Despite a recent 60% price increase, ETH is still nearly 50% below its 2021 peak and comprises only 9% of the total crypto market.

The recent uptick in ETH dominance coincides with a slight decline in Bitcoin dominance. However, drops of 5-7.2 percentage points are insufficient to signal an altseason, as historical declines typically range from 30-50 points. Therefore, we are not yet in a full altseason.

Pectra is not the primary catalyst behind Ether’s rise

Ethereum's recent rally has been largely attributed to the Pectra upgrade, launched on May 7, 2025. This upgrade enhances Ethereum’s transaction throughput and competitiveness against emerging Layer-1 blockchains. While initial analysis links ETH’s price surge to Pectra, historical patterns reveal that previous upgrades, like the Merge and Dencun, led to "sell-the-news" events rather than sustained rallies.

What sets Pectra apart is that ETH experienced a stronger rally post-upgrade, following a significant downturn in price. However, options market data complicates the narrative; the increase in implied volatility for ETH options indicates that traders were reacting to broader macroeconomic changes rather than just the upgrade itself. Notably, the volatility for short-term options surged after Pectra’s rollout, highlighting that market sentiment shifted in response to external factors.

Ethereum's rally beginning May 8, 2025, was not solely due to the Pectra upgrade; it coincided with President Trump's announcement of a trade deal with the UK, triggering risk-on sentiment in US equity and crypto markets. This led to a simultaneous rally in the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, BTC, and ETH, with ETH surging over 23%—its largest single-day gain since May 2021.

Shortly after, the US and China announced reduced tariffs, enhancing market optimism. This shift was evident in ETH’s derivatives markets, where the 30-day futures implied yield surged above 15%, indicating strong demand for long positions. Notably, this bullishness stemmed from improving macro conditions rather than anticipation of Pectra.

Perpetual swap funding rates for ETH also stabilized above spot prices, reflecting robust demand for leveraged positions. Additionally, falling gold prices reinforced that the rally in risk assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, was driven by easing tariff uncertainties and shifting market sentiment.

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Bybit X Block Scholes Institution Report: Drivers and sentiments behind Ether’s recent breakout and how far it can go

In this article, we break down what contract for differences (CFDs) are, looking at how investors who want leveraged exposure to commodities, currencies, indices and stocks trade CFDs.

A contract for difference (CFD) is a popular investment product for investors who want leveraged exposure to commodities, currencies, indices or even stocks. It allows investors to gain exposure to an investment theme without having to own the underlying asset.

 between a buyer and a CFD broker through which the buyer can speculate on whether a contract price will rise or fall without owning the asset. The price of the CFD moves based on the underlying asset’s price movement

There are CFDs for multiple investment products — stocks, indices, commodities and currencies — available in many countries, including Australia and the UK. However, the SEC 

CFDs are a great option if you want access to an investment theme without owning the underlying asset. Investors can apply leverage, diversify their investment portfolios and even trade after traditional market hours.

A CFD is a contract between a buyer and seller in which both parties agree to pay the difference in the contract’s value once the contract is closed. CFDs can be based on the price movements of stocks, commodities and other financial products. The buyer determines how long the contract lasts and can keep it open as long as they meet the margin requirements.

Investors can initiate a short or long position in a financial product. Once the contract closes, the buyer either pays the CFD issuer if there is a loss or receives a payment if the trade is profitable.

Forex and commodity CFDs are two of the most popular types. These products allow investors to gain exposure to various currencies and commodities without having to pay for the underlying asset.

A forex CFD allows an investor to bet on the 

 of different currencies. Along with the CFD issuer, they agree to exchange the difference in the movement of a currency over a set period. For example, an investor could bet that the US dollar will outperform the Japanese yen. If the USD appreciates, the investor receives this profit. If it depreciates, the investor has to pay for the loss plus the broker fees.

A commodity CFD is similar, but this product 

 an investor to speculate on commodity price movements. There are CFD products for commodities like gold, silver, oil and agricultural products, and they are very popular because these physical commodities are more difficult to invest in.

Investors who don’t want to invest directly in stocks can instead invest in stock CFDs. Unlike with normal stock trading, investors do not have to buy the underlying stock.

One of the main benefits of stock CFDs is that investors can open leveraged short or long positions, and they can potentially earn higher returns without initiating a large position in a stock.

Difference between stock trading on spot and CFDs

Although the outcomes are similar, stock trading on spot and CFDs is 

. The main benefit of CFDs is that they enable you to use leverage. For example, if you want to place a $10,000 trade, you may only need $2,000 in capital.

On the other hand, spot stock trading takes place directly on major markets, like the New York Stock Exchange. When you invest using the spot market, your investment exposure matches the investment amount, and you own the underlying shares in your brokerage account.

Investors choose to trade CFDs over other products for 

: CFDs allow you to trade a variety of products, including currencies, stocks and commodities. Investors can access all these products in a single account, choosing to initiate long or short positions in them.

: Investors with smaller amounts of capital who want greater exposure to investments can take advantage of the leverage that CFDs offer. This can be a favorable investment strategy when managed properly.

: Investors can also access products in multiple global markets, further diversifying their portfolio. In some cases, you may even be able to 

 your portfolio. For example, if you are long Tesla, you can initiate a small short position in a CFD of this stock. You can do the same for other types of CFD products, which are all highly liquid.

Suppose that an investor wants to gain exposure to Coca-Cola’s stock without directly investing in the stock.

They can purchase a CFD that provides exposure to 100 shares at $71 per share, valued at $7,100. They don’t need to pay $7,100 — they only need to meet the margin requirement, which can be as low as $1,420 (20%, at 5x leverage).

If Coca-Cola’s share price increases by 10%, from $71 to $78.1 in 30 days, the investor can decide to close the contract. The gross profit from this trade, which the CFD pays to the investor, is calculated as follows:

(100*78.1) − (100*71) = $7,810 − $7,100 = $710

 other fees, such as the commission rate and financing charges. These charges may be as follows:

: 0.1% to open a trade and 0.1% to close it. In this case, the investor pays $14.91 in fees to open and close the position.

: If the CFD issuer charges an annual financing fee of 7.5%, the daily financing fee is calculated as follows:

CFDs may also charge other fees. The commission rates and financing charges can vary significantly, and some brokers may include the fee in the spread. The example above shows how financing costs could potentially eat into your profit, and how CFDs are generally better for short-term trades. Large downward movements can also easily threaten investors and force them to close their positions. Even a 10% drawdown would have been enough to force the investor to close this position.

This type of trading requires a lot of patience and education, since investing in CFDs can carry higher levels of risk, where even small movements can produce great losses.

Investors who trade CFDs generally initiate larger contract sizes for the extra leverage, which can be very risky if the asset moves in an unfavorable direction. Investors should ensure that they have stop losses in place so that they can exit the trade if necessary.

It is important to note that there are many fees associated with trading CFDs. The combination of fees and financing costs, which can add up over time, can eat away at any profits. CFD investors should also consider the 

Be sure to spend time researching the CFD issuer to ensure they are reputable and that they can fulfill their financial obligation.

Another factor to consider when choosing a CFD issuer is their 

. Consider the following factors carefully:

These costs can quickly add up and reduce your profits, and they can be particularly painful if the underlying asset moves in an unfavorable direction. The combination of leveraged declines and high fees may force investors to realize sharp losses quickly.

Investing in CFDs can be an excellent option for well-informed investors who want to diversify their portfolios and use leverage to aim for higher returns. Like all investments, it is important to understand your portfolio goals and risk tolerance and ensure that investing in CFDs is the best move for your portfolio.

 that it is offering new stock CFD trading services. Its initial offerings allow investors to choose from over 78 stocks, which include some of the leading blue-chip companies like Amazon, American Airlines, Apple and Tesla. With Bybit, you can utilize up to 5x leverage on these CFD trades.

 about how you can gain exposure to stocks, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, commodities and indices.

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What are contract for differences (CFDs)?

Plasma, a blockchain purpose-built for stablecoins and backed by Bitfinex and Founders Fund, will launch the first public sale of its XPL token using Echo's new token sale infrastructure, Sonar.

Daily top performer — WalletConnect (WCT)

The S&P 500 rose 2.05% on Tuesday, lifted by Trump’s delay of a 50% EU tariff and hopes for corporate-friendly policies. Investors now await Nvidia earnings and FOMC minutes for further market direction. Gold dropped 1.2% to $3,302 as Trump’s EU tariff delay lifted risk sentiment and the dollar, pressuring safe-haven demand. The Coindesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, rose 1.18%, with Bitcoin and Ether up 0.71% and 4.14%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today’s top performer is WCT up 31.4% after WalletConnect brings $WCT to Solana with key partner integrations.

WalletConnect (WCT), founded in 2018, is a secure, open-source protocol that links mobile wallets to DApps via QR code, using a decentralized network for reliable, scalable access across DeFi. WalletConnect 

 that its token $WCT is launching on Solana via Wormhole NTT, with initial partners including Phantom, Jupiter, Backpack, and Solflare.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

, a blockchain purpose-built for stablecoins and backed by Bitfinex and Founders Fund, will launch the first public sale of its XPL token using Echo's new token sale infrastructure, Sonar. The sale will distribute 10% of XPL at a $500M FDV, matching the valuation of Founders Fund’s equity investment. Participants earn allocations by depositing stablecoins into a Plasma vault on Ethereum, with tokens distributed after Mainnet Beta. XPL will secure consensus, power EVM execution, and support a Bitcoin bridge. Plasma also announced key partnerships in payments and DeFi to support its goal of global stablecoin adoption.

Yesterday, BTC spot ETFs saw a net outflow of $23.9 million, with $26.9 million pulled from GBTC and a $3.0 million inflow into non-GBTC funds.

, a decentralized stablecoin protocol, has launched its governance token, RESOLV, with a 10% supply airdrop available to eligible wallets until June 27. RESOLV holders can vote on protocol decisions and earn fee shares. The protocol also includes USR, an interest-bearing stablecoin, and RLP, an insurance fund token. USR is delta-neutral and backed by ETH, currently yielding 11% via stUSR. RLP offers a higher 18.3% yield. Resolv’s TVL stands at $422 million.

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Plasma to launch $XPL token sale via Echo’s Sonar at $500M valuation

Trading

Indicators

Master swing trading with these best indicators and start analyzing momentum to enter a trade precisely for maximum profits. Learn more here.

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Swing trading is one of the most common trading styles, along with 

 and position trading. For beginners, this trading style is less intimidating since it’s less hectic and stressful than day trading, but comfortable enough for traders to profit from price fluctuations.

Traders who favor this kind of trading style usually rely on swing trading indicators, as it’s essential for them to identify support and resistance levels when the trend changes, thereby providing trade opportunities. Using multiple 

 is often recommended in order to confirm a trend before entering a trade, because a single technical indicator may be inaccurate at times, and additional confirmation is necessary.

This article will introduce cryptocurrency swing trading and describe some of the best technical indicators you can use to get started.

A swing trader opens a position based on their expectation of prices, in hopes of capturing a profit when the market moves in the expected direction. Swing trading positions are usually held overnight, and can stay open for days or weeks. 

Swing trading is based on the concept that price retracement is a common phenomenon in the cryptocurrency market. When a price moves up and down, it’s known as a swing. Swing traders take advantage of these variations to enter trade positions and capture profits. Even though some swings may be smaller in magnitude, which translates to a smaller profit, as long as a swing trader is consistent in executing their trade, they can eventually make and accumulate significant profit. Technical indicators are often used to help swing traders identify entry and exit points for their positions.

A common trading method, swing trading uses an indicator known as 

® to plot a number of standard deviations around a moving average, while some traders prefer the 

 to quantify volatility in the crypto market. Either way, combining different swing trading indicators is essential to understanding and predicting cryptocurrencies’ 

Before describing the best technical indicators for swing trading, let’s look at an overview of a swing trade.

With swing trading, you can hold your position open for several days or weeks, as long as the trend carries on in your predicted direction. Traders usually choose to close their position when the trend shows signs of reversal. Given that swing traders operate with larger time frames, they aren’t interested in short-term price volatility as day traders are. For swing traders, the only thing that matters is for swing highs to go higher in a bullish market, and for swing lows to go lower in a bearish market.

Swing highs are consecutive peaks touched by a cryptocurrency’s price before fleeting moments of retracement. Sometimes the retracement can turn into a trend reversal, which breaks the consecutive swing highs. A current high that’s higher than the previous peaks can be identified as an uptrend.

Swing lows are consecutive lows made after the temporary moments of rebounds. When the current low is lower than the previous ones, we can determine a generally bearish trend.

Some swing traders prefer to trade between swing highs and lows only, which usually becomes a shorter-term version of swing trading.

Swing trading indicators use mathematical calculations to determine various aspects of a price action based on historical data. They can be implemented on a daily chart, or with any other time frames used by swing traders to assess the market situation.

These indicators help traders determine whether a trend is 

 and whether it has momentum. While some swing traders rely more on news and 

, technical indicators are imperative to determine the best entry and exit points.

The three most important types of swing trading indicators are as follows:

In this section we’ll cover some of the best swing trading indicators. However, it should be noted that regardless of which indicators are used, it’s almost impossible to guarantee profits. This is because technical indicators are utilizing historical data to predict the future, and there will always be certain inconsistencies that will lead to different outcomes.

Here are the six most popular technical indicators used in swing trading.

. You may find it under the category of “oscillators” as well. It calculates the size and magnitude of the latest price changes. Swing traders use the RSI indicator mostly to determine overbought or oversold levels of a cryptocurrency.

The RSI indicator is displayed as an oscillator — i.e., a line graph that moves between two extremes, ranging between 0 and 100. 

When the RSI indicator is above 70, it typically signals that a particular cryptocurrency is in overbought territory, suggesting a potential reversal to an existing uptrend. On the other hand, when the RSI drops below 30, it indicates an oversold market and you can anticipate that the bearish trend could be coming to a stop soon.

Another way to use the RSI is to look for center line crossovers. For instance, when the RSI indicator breaks above its center line, it points to a rising trend.

Moving average is also commonly used for technical analysis of commodities and company shares in traditional finance markets. As its name suggests, swing traders use MA to calculate an asset’s average price movement over a given period. As a result, MAs smooth out short-term volatility that may appear confusing for traders, blurring potential trends.

It’s important to understand that MAs are lagging indicators, which rely on past price action. Thus, it helps if you use them to confirm a trend rather than predict future moves.

We can distinguish between short, medium and long-term MAs, depending on how many periods they monitor. For example, short-term MAs cover between 5 and 50 lookback periods, while medium-term MAs cover up to 100.

There are two main types of MAs: simple moving averages (SMAs) and exponential moving averages (EMAs). The latter emphasizes more recent price action by giving it a higher weightage.

Typically, a bullish signal is established when a short-term MA crosses over a longer-term MA, and vice versa: When a longer-term MA crosses below a short-term MA, be cautious of a potential downtrend.

3. Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD)

 (MACD) is a more complex technical indicator that merges two regular moving averages. MACD is calculated by subtracting the 26-period EMA from the 12-period EMA, though these parameters can be adjusted manually based on your needs. To be clear, the two lines displayed on an MACD chart don’t represent the two MAs used for the calculations. Instead, here are the three elements of the MACD indicator:

Swing traders usually buy when the MACD line crosses above its signal line, indicated by the green circles in the figure above, and go short when the MACD crosses below the signal line, shown by the red circles.

Another way to use the MACD is to look for divergence between the histogram and the price action, which usually anticipates a trend reversal.

Volume is one of the most critical indicators for swing traders, though beginners often ignore it. This indicator can be indicated by default below the main chart. It offers insight into how robust a newly formed trend is. Basically, the volume indicator tells us how many traders are buying or selling a cryptocurrency or asset at a given point. Thus, the higher the volume, the stronger the trend.

Volume is especially useful with breakout strategies, i.e., when an asset’s price breaks above a resistance line or below a support line. If the breakout is accompanied by high volume, then the new trend is expected to be substantial.

Bollinger Bands® (BB) are a momentum indicator consisting of three lines — a moving average and two standard deviations (positive and negative). Swing traders favor this indicator because it quickly detects a trend, overbought and oversold levels, and volatility. Also, it appears nice and clear on the chart.

The width of the BB increases along with volatility, and declines when the market is experiencing lower levels of volatility. Simply put, the closer the bands are to each other, the lower the volatility.

While BB work well in trending markets, they do an especially great job when the price is ranging, i.e., moving up and down inside a horizontal channel. In this case, when the price touches the upper line, swing traders may go short. When the price touches the lower line of the indicator, this may precede a rebound. 

The point is that the price will always tend to move toward the center of the BB. If the width between the bands starts expanding, then a new trend is forming, and you need to be wary of trading within that band.

The stochastic oscillator is another momentum indicator. It works similarly to the RSI indicator, though it has different calculations. This indicator compares the closing price of an asset to the range of its prices over a certain period.

Like the RSI, the stochastic oscillator is represented by a chart between zero and 100. However, overbought and oversold zones are above 80 and below 20, respectively. 

Another difference is that the stochastic consists of two lines, rather than just one as with RSI. One line shows the current value, and the other line is a three-day MA.

Traders use the stochastic to determine overbought and oversold levels. They also watch for the two lines to cross, which generally anticipates a trend reversal.

The trading indicators described above can be great tools when it comes to providing relevant signals, but they become even more efficient if you combine them with other chart tools. Here are some suggestions.

A swing trader needs to always pay attention to 

levels that a cryptocurrency’s price has had difficulties breaking. 

In short, a resistance level is an imaginary upper line that a price fails to break (usually falling upon touching the resistance). On the other hand, a support level is an imaginary line made of recent lows, at which a price typically stops declining and rebounds upward.

The 6 Best Swing Indicators in 2023

Compete for 2,500 USDT Every Week

The 6 Best Swing Indicators in 2023

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Compete for 2,500 USDT Every Week

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards