Crypto: Bitcoin Investor Sentiment Cools Amid Us Shutdown Fears, Fed Policy...

Bitcoin’s push for $93,000 was stalled as professional traders stay cautious and the market’s focus remains pinned to gold’s rally, Federal Reserve policy and US macroeconomics.

Bitcoin market data shows that pro traders are avoiding risk and paying extra to protect against a price drop.

Gold is hitting record highs, but Bitcoin remains stuck as investors favor traditional safe havens.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose 1.5% following a retest of the $86,000 level on Sunday as traders weigh the risks of a US federal government shutdown by Saturday. This week features multiple high-stakes catalysts, including earnings reports from global tech giants and the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Wednesday.

Despite gold hitting record highs, Bitcoin traders remain cautious. Derivatives metrics suggest skepticism regarding further gains; demand for leveraged bullish positions is weak, and professional traders are currently pricing in higher odds of a negative price swing in the options markets.

The annualized BTC futures premium (basis rate) stood at 5% on Monday. This level is barely enough to compensate for the longer settlement periods inherent in these derivative contracts. Typically, when traders turn bullish, this indicator jumps above 10%. Conversely, bearish periods can cause the rate to turn negative. Overall, market sentiment has remained neutral-to-bearish for the past two weeks.

Similarly, the BTC options delta skew reached 12% on Monday. This indicates that put (sell) options are trading at a premium, reflecting a strong reluctance among traders to hold downside exposure. In a neutral market, this indicator usually fluctuates between -6% and +6%. The last time the skew reached these levels was Dec. 1, when Bitcoin plummeted from $91,500 to $83,900 in just a few hours.

Attributing Bitcoin’s bearish momentum solely to the US fiscal standoff seems counterintuitive, especially as the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% on Monday. Meanwhile, gold surged to $5,100 for the first time in history. This rally has led analysts to wonder if a "debasement trade" is accelerating. While the US dollar losing value against scarce assets is a common theme, it currently reflects a broader lack of trust that is not necessarily translating into immediate gains for Bitcoin.

Investors have become increasingly risk-aware after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York signaled a potential rescue of the Japanese yen—a move not seen since 1998. Over the past year, other major fiat currenci

Source: CoinTelegraph