Cryptocurrency Market Update: Bitcoin options expiry may bring some volatility

• Bitcoin and Ethereum options expiration may trigger market movements.
• Bitcoin and all major altcoins are lethargic in tight ranges.

Chicago-based CME Group holds almost a quarter of the whole Bitcoin options market, according to the recent research perfromed by the cryptocurrency startup Skew.

However, despite the greowing market share, CME falls behind an unregulated Dutch exchange Deribit that accounts for 68% of the market. The analysts from Skew also noted that about $1 billion worth of Ethereum and Bitcoin options were set to expiter during the next week, which may set the market on fire.

Top-3 coins overview

BTC/USD attempted growth above $9,400 only to retreat to $9,350 by press time. The coin has barely moved since the beginning of the week as the market cannot figure out the direciotn of the breakthrough. However the coin is vulnerable to sharp movements as the price has been contained in a tight range for a long time. The initial resistance is created by $9,500. The support comes at $9,000. 

BTC/USD daily chart

ETH/USD slipped below $230.00 to change hands at $229.30. Despite the retreat, the coin is moving within the short-term bullish trend with the local support created by daily SMA50 at $220.00. The resistance comes at the former channel support at $240.00. A sustainable move above this area is needed for the upside to gain traction.

ETH/USD daily chart

XRP/USD settled below $0.1900 amid growing bearish sentiments. The coin has stayed mostly unchanged both since the start of the day and on a day-to-day basis, however the short-term bias is bearish. The local resistance is created by the psychological $0.1900 and $0.1911 (daily SMA100) The support comes at Saturday’s low of $0.1847, followed by the lower line of the daily Bollinger Band at $0.1825.

XRP/USD daily chart