Bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency market have endured an extended bearish market through most of 2022. However, as the fourth quarter approached it offered many Bitcoin investors and traders, and individuals across the crypto market, hope for a potential shift and relief from the continually struggling market conditions.
Bitcoin is down over 70% from its price level from last year at this time. With that said, data from the past several years reveals the fourth quarter to be a time when Bitcoin typically performs its best. Would the same hold true for 2022? This was the question a lot of Bitcoin and crypto enthusiasts, experts and professionals were asking as October 2022 approached.
How Has Bitcoin Performed Over The First Three Weeks Of Q4?
So far, Bitcoin has not performed in Q4 2022 as the top digital coin has in past fourth quarter showings, but in all fairness, it’s still early. To highlight some of the positive signs which have been witnessed in the BTC chart, on the early morning of October 6, $BTC reached a high so far for the month after climbing to a price of $20,376.
The October high could prove to be significant, as the resistance that many professional traders are calling for BTC to flip has been at the $20,500 price level. If buying pressure builds at that level, the potential exists for bulls to carry the momentum and push Bitcoin comfortably above $21,000 eventually. The BTC high in October did exceed its September high, but on the morning of October 13, a low around $18,400 would also become the lowest price level reflected on the Bitcoin chart over the same two-month time period.
Factors Moving Forward Into Q4
This Friday there are over $510 million in options set to expire. Most of the existing contracts are betting on Bitcoin to rise beyond the $21,000 price level, with a total net profit, at the time of writing, of around $150 million with over 7,000 call options placed.
While this would likely be a positive scenario for Bitcoin bulls, there are also around 4,300 put options betting on the price of BTC to fall between a level of $18,000 to $19,000 according to open interest options data. The other options placed fall in between the highs and lows, at $19,000 to $20,000 and $20,000 to $21,000, which shows the wide range of speculative call and put options being placed.
Expectations For BTC As Q4 Continues
The volatility seen in the options placements expiring on this coming Friday reflects the volatility which has been expressed in the Bitcoin chart through the year. Over summer months there were spikes in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major coins on the market. There have been considerable doses of challenging blockchain news through 2022, but there have also been bright spots across the crypto industry.
The majority of larger ecosystems have continued to focus on various aspects of development and networking, branching out to align with large corporations and brands in many cases, and institutions which implement operations based in traditional finance.
While Bitcoin continues to teeter between varying areas of support and resistance, one thing is for sure. Traders, investors and various market professionals will continue to keep a close eye on the volatile price movement, not only of Bitcoin, but the rest of the cryptocurrency market as Q4 rolls forward.
