Bitcoin Crash Caused by Bakkt Futures Launch, Claims JPMorgan

Last week, only a day after the launch of Bakkt’s futures contracts, the Bitcoin price dropped nearly 20% down to $8k, as BeInCrypto previously reported. Of course, there was the skepticism that Bakkt’s futures contracts were the reasons for this, among other things, and JPMorgan agrees, according to a new report from the company. This claim comes from the research of Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou and his strategist team, who said that while futures contracts are a good sign for the future of the market, they resulted in a dropped price for the world’s first cryptocurrency asset – at least for now. “It may be that the listing of physically settled futures contracts (that enables some holders of physical Bitcoin e.g. miners to hedge exposures) has contributed to recent price declines, rather than the low initial volumes,” claims the report. Notably, however, Bakkt’s Bitcoin futures numbers weren’t too great at launch despite the hype that awaited the offering for so long. However, since then, BeInCrypto has reported that the platform is starting to perform a little bit better. Bakkt saw 105 contracts settled on its first day, with 217 on its second. On that first day, investors only traded 72 Bitcoin. Competitors Cboe and CME saw a respective 3,969 and 5,270 Bitcoin on their first days. But, it’s worth noting that a big freakout isn’t really necessary. After all, Bitcoin crashes have happened many times in the past and will definitely continue to happen. In a recent report from BeInCrypto, we highlight the fact that despite Bitcoin’s price sitting at a relatively low as of now, the asset’s overall performance is nothing but positive. After all, Bitcoin did start 2019 in the $3,000-$4,000 price range. What do you think about Bitcoin’s crash last week? Was it due to Bakkt’s futures contracts or something else? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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