sludgefeed.com
Bitcoin (BTC) has shown decent momentum to end the week, pushing its price back over $3,700 to around $3,750, before settling in around $3,725.
While Bitcoin has been relatively quiet since the beginning of the year, a recent report suggests futures trading volatility has steadily been on the rise.
“So, the New Year is underway and volatility appears to be percolating, which is off-putting to most passive investors,” wrote Cboe senior instructor Kevin Davitt. “However, there are many market participants that understand volatility is a constant, and if volume numbers at Cboe are any indication, they are actively embracing the tools available to trade volatility and/or manage risk.”
While Davitt is adamant that volatility is on the rise, the LedgerX Volatility Index (LXVX), a Bitcoin price volatility index designed to mimic Cboe’s own volatility index (VIX), has shown a steady decrease over the past two weeks.
LedgerX is leveraging its own U.S. federally-regulated bitcoin options data, which is USD-denominated and physically settled in BTC, providing a reliable estimate for expected BTC/USD price volatility. This could ultimately be the reasoning behind the discrepancy with the current Cboe trend that Davitt highlighted.
Bitcoin’s current price gives the largest digital currency a $65 billion market cap, representing a 52.5% total market dominance.