2023-11-02 10:24

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has partnered with six commercial banks, including UBS, Zuercher Kantonal Bank, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, Basler Kantonalbank, Commerzbank (ETR:CBKG), and Hypothekarbank Lenzburg for a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot project. The initiative, dubbed Helvetia Phase III, aims to tokenize the Swiss franc for digital securities transactions on SDX, a regulated Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. The pilot project, led by SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan, is set to run from December 2023 to June 2024. It will experiment with Swiss Franc wholesale CBDC to settle transactions with tokenized assets. This approach promises increased efficiency and transparency in certain regulated sectors. Wholesale CBDCs are designed specifically for interbank transfers and are being considered by euro area central banks as well. They differ from retail CBDCs, which are intended for consumer use. Privacy concerns associated with retail CBDCs are deemed less significant for their wholesale counterparts. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/swiss-national-bank-and-commercial-banks-partner-for-cbdc-pilot-project-93CH-3218622

2023-11-02 10:14

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group experienced a record-setting third quarter for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures and options contracts trading. This surge in trading activity is indicative of an increased participation from institutional investors in the crypto derivatives market. The average Bitcoin futures contracts during Q3 hit a record 15,800, marking an 11% increase quarter-over-quarter. Alongside this, open interest (OI) for Ether futures and options contracts grew by 22%, with Ether options contracts alone seeing a staggering 75% rise. Despite the brief spot market volatility during Q3 that led to Bitcoin and Ether, the top cryptocurrencies by market cap, falling 12% and 15% respectively from their annual highs, both cryptocurrencies showed notable year-to-date (YTD) growth. Bitcoin's YTD price surged by 62%, while Ether's increased by 39%. A record open interest was reached on October 25 with 20,380 contracts, translating to a notional exposure of $3.5 billion. This notable achievement underscores the rising institutional interest in regulated crypto trading platforms. Gio Vicioso highlighted the dramatic increase in Bitcoin options trading volume and open interest, along with the muted overall trading volumes for the year, as evidence of CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) role as a trusted risk management platform. As of October 30, CME's open interest surpassed competitors with $3.58 billion, overtaking Bybit's $2.6 billion and OKX's $1.78 billion. This coincided with a surge in cash-settled futures contracts exceeding 100,000 BTC during Bitcoin's double-digit growth to over $35,000 in October. CME's standard futures contracts valued at five BTC and micro contracts at a tenth of a Bitcoin set it apart from offshore exchanges' perpetual futures focus. CME now ranks second only to Binance in the Bitcoin futures market, further solidifying its position as a significant player in the regulated crypto trading platform space. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/cme-group-sees-recordbreaking-q3-in-crypto-futures-and-options-trading-93CH-3218557

2023-11-02 09:54

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Bitcoin (BTC) put options are currently undervalued, providing a rare opportunity for bullish traders to acquire downside hedges at reduced prices, according to data analytics firm Amberdata. The underpricing of these options has been identified through the ratio of implied volatility for 25-delta out-of-the-money BTC put options and the 30-day implied volatility of at-the-money options, which has dipped below 1.00. This ratio suggests that 25-delta put options listed below bitcoin's current price are undervalued in terms of volatility compared to those near the spot price. Implied volatility, which reflects expected price fluctuations, is an indicator of options demand. Put options grant the holder the right to sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price by a certain date and are typically purchased by bearish traders. On the other hand, bullish traders often buy call options. However, they may also purchase puts as downside protection against potential price corrections. The discount on these put options has emerged as traders rush to add bullish exposure through calls amid bitcoin's price rally surpassing the $36,000 mark and extending October's 28% gain. Despite this opportunity for cheap hedges, puts have seldom traded at a consistent discount for extended periods since early 2022 due to the bullish market sentiment and decreased demand for downside protection. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-put-options-undervalued-offering-unique-opportunity-for-bullish-traders-93CH-3218482

2023-11-02 09:52

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Oil prices rose by over 1% on Thursday, ending a three-day decline. The upswing was in response to the U.S Federal Reserve's decision to keep benchmark interest rates steady, with both Brent crude futures and West Texas Intermediate crude futures seeing a 1.1% increase to $85.52 and $81.35 a barrel respectively. This rally coincided with gains in financial markets due to the Fed's unchanged interest rate of 5.25%-5.50%. In the Middle East, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for Muslim states to halt oil and food exports to Israel in response to its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. This development is being watched closely as Iran, an OPEC member, produced about 2.5 million barrels of crude per day in 2022. Meanwhile, slower restarts of U.S refineries after seasonal maintenance have led to higher crude stocks and a minor increase in U.S gasoline stocks, according to data from the U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA). On the demand side, J.P.Morgan analysts estimated October's global oil demand at 102.1 million barrels per day (bpd), slightly below their initial projection. European inflation data from Eurostat's flash reading and potential actions from the European Central Bank are also being considered as influencing factors. Geopolitical tensions continue to influence oil prices with ongoing strife between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and concerns over Europe's economic health affecting oil demand. In China, approval of a significant sovereign bond issuance could boost the economy and oil demand. In Venezuela, the suspension of opposition presidential primary results by the Supreme Court has raised concerns regarding crude exports. The U.S. had eased sanctions in exchange for promises of fairer elections in 2024, but this development could affect that agreement. Despite these uncertainties, Goldman Sachs analysts maintain their first-quarter 2024 Brent crude price forecast at $95 a barrel, noting that any reduction in Iranian exports could cause baseline prices to increase by 5%. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-rebound-following-feds-decision-to-hold-interest-rates-steady-93CH-3218480

2023-11-02 08:09

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com - The U.S. dollar fell sharply in early European trade Thursday after comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointed to a likely peak in U.S. interest rates. At 04:10 ET (08:10 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.4% lower at 106.290, extending overnight losses. Have Fed rates peaked? The U.S. Federal Reserve left rates unchanged on Wednesday, as expected, and while Chair Jerome Powell left the door open for another rate hike he struck a less hawkish tone than markets were expecting, by acknowledging that monetary conditions had tightened substantially in recent months. Traders have taken his comments as a sign that the Fed is likely done with its run of rate hikes, and was likely to cut rates by mid-2024. Ten-year Treasury yields are down 20 basis points from Wednesday's highs, having previously climbed to levels last seen in 2007, and this has hit the dollar hard. “With Treasury yields staying at elevated levels, the need for further policy rate hikes is dramatically reduced and we do not expect any further Fed rate hikes,” said analysts at ING, in a note. BOE faces difficult balancing act Attention now turns to the Bank of England, which holds its latest policy-setting meeting later in the session. GBP/USD rose 0.1% to 1.2168, benefiting from the weak dollar, with the central bank widely expected to follow the European Central Bank and the Fed in keeping its base rate unchanged at its 15-year high. The U.K. inflation rate has fallen from the high of 11.1% in October 2022 to 6.7% in September, but this still remains more than three times its target. That said, the BOE also has to take in growing signs of strain in the economy, and thus faces a tricky balancing act of tackling still elevated prices without sending the country into recession. Euro gains ahead of manufacturing PMI data EUR/USD rose 0.3% to 1.0602, again helped by the weak dollar, ahead of the release of German unemployment data for October, as well as manufacturing PMI numbers for the eurozone as a whole. These numbers are expected to show the German economy, the eurozone’s largest, remains in a weak state. That said, ECB policymaker Joachim Nagel said on Tuesday that the European Central Bank must keep interest rates sufficiently high for long enough because inflation in the euro zone has not been conquered despite a significant fall in the past year. {{3|USD/JPY}} still above 150 Elsewhere, USD/JPY fell 0.3% to 150.49, with the yen recovering sharply from a one-year low as government officials continued to threaten intervention in currency markets. But the pair was still above the widely-watched 150 level, having logged steep losses this week following dovish signals from the Bank of Japan. USD/CNY edged higher to 7.3192, with the yuan receiving little help from the dollar weakness as a string of weak economic readings from the country kept investors at bay. AUD/USD rose 0.5% to 0.6420, with traders growing increasingly confident that the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise interest rates when it meets next week. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/dollar-slumps-after-powells-comments-sterling-awaits-boe-decision-3218326

2023-11-02 08:06

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new high for 2023 at $35,717, following Federal Reserve Chair Powell's press conference and monetary policy guidance hinting at an end to rate hikes. This news led to a 2.30% increase in BTC value, closing on Wednesday at $35,482 as Asian markets reacted positively to the news. MicroStrategy's Q3 earnings report revealed that the company held 158,400 BTC worth $4.69 billion as of October 31. This holding yielded a profit of $934 million for the company after Bitcoin broke out from sub-$30,000 levels. Regarding altcoins, Uniswap, Near Protocol, and Oasis Network saw significant gains. Bitcoin and Ethereum both remained above their 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), indicating bullish trends in the market. For Bitcoin to break the resistance level of $36,400, it needs to return to $36,000. However, a drop below the support level of $35,265 could bring the lower support level of $32,436 into view. Ethereum faces a similar situation where it needs to break above its trend line to challenge the resistance level at $1,926. If it fails to do so, it risks falling to the support level of $1,805. The report also highlighted that both Bitcoin and Ethereum are currently in overbought territory. This could signal increased seller pressure in the market. The conclusion of the Sam Bankman-Fried trial saw the defense arguing his innocence and highlighting plea deals and immunity agreements signed by prosecution witnesses. Looking ahead, future market sentiment could be influenced by activities from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and news related to Bitcoin-spot and Ethereum-spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-reaches-new-2023-high-following-feds-monetary-policy-guidance-93CH-3218316