The cryptocurrency market is showing concerning levels of speculative excess as the popular memecoin Shiba Inu’s (SHIB) open interest in futures surpasses $100 million, signaling strong investor interest. SHIB’s market value has increased by over 130% in the last 7 days, and experts are warning against excessive speculative price movements and pointing to an impending correction across the market. Additionally, an expert emphasizes the supply-demand imbalance for Bitcoin (BTC), noting that the ratio has risen to 1:10 and believes that the largest cryptocurrency could set a new record this week.
Surge in Open Interest to $100 Million Raises Alarm in Bitcoin Market
According to CoinGlass data, the nominal open interest in Shiba Inu’s futures has surpassed the $100 million mark for the first time since August 2023. This increase in open interest, combined with SHIB’s sharp rise in market value, indicates a significant capital inflow into the altcoin.
However, historical patterns draw attention to the fact that open interest above $100 million in SHIB’s futures has previously signaled potential market corrections. This could mean that Bitcoin may have reached or is about to reach temporary or local price peaks.
Expert Anticipates Bitcoin to Set New Record This Week
The speculative frenzy in the market extends beyond SHIB. Trading volumes in South Korea are averaging around $8 billion, a significant increase from the $1 billion daily level observed before the Bitcoin bull run gained momentum. Markus Thielen, founder of 10X Research, associates this rise in individual investor activity with the increase in trading volume on South Korean exchanges.
Thielen predicts that Bitcoin could reach a new all-time high above $69,000 this week, influenced by the significant inflows into US-based spot ETFs, which exceed the daily creation of BTC. He also warns that the current 1:10 supply-demand imbalance, due to institutional demand outstripping daily mining supply, could lead to sharp movements in the market.
While ongoing outflows from Grayscale’s spot ETF (GBTC) and a temporary slowdown in inflows to BlackRock’s IBIT indicate short-term fluctuations in investor sentiment, Thielen believes that strong inflows into BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF could resume and trigger a significant upward movement in Bitcoin’s price.
