Decentral Block Post

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin (BTC) futures have been trading below Bitcoin’s spot price on regular exchanges since Nov. 9, a situation that is technically referred to as backwardation. While it does point to a bearish market structure, there are multiple factors that can cause momentary distortions.

Typically, these CME fixed-month contracts trade at a slight premium, indicating that sellers are requesting more money to withhold settlement for longer. As a result, futures should trade at a 0.5% to 2% premium in healthy markets, a situation known as contango.

However, a prominent futures contract seller will cause a momentary distortion in the futures premium. Unlike perpetual contracts, these fixed-calendar futures do not have a funding rate, so their price may vastly differ from spot exchanges.

Aggressive sellers caused a 5% discount on BTC futures

Whenever there's aggressive activity from shorts (sellers), the two-month futures contract will trade at a 2% or higher discount.

Notice how 1-month CME futures had been trading near the fair value, either presenting a 0.5% discount or 0.5% premium versus spot exchanges. However, during the Nov. 9 Bitcoin price crash, aggressive futures contracts sellers caused the CME futures to trade 5% below the regular market price.

Bitcoin (BTC) ranged around $16,500 on Nov. 17 as markets digested the latest events surrounding exchange FTX.

FTX CEO tells of “complete failure of corporate controls”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD seeing only mild volatility at the Wall Street open.

The pair showed acclimatization to events around the FTX insolvency, the latest including revelations that Alameda Research had been immune from liquidation while trading on the platform.

After the departure of Sam Bankman-Fried, new CEO John Ray III wasted no time in acknowledging the extent of the problems left in his wake.

In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Ray describes the corporate control of FTX as a “complete failure.” He wrote:

The "Bitcoin-is-dead" gang is back and at it again. The fall of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has resurrected these infamous critics that are once again blaming a robbery on the money that was stolen, and not the robber.

"We need regulation! Why did the government allow this to happen?" they scream.  

For instance, Chetan Bhagat, a renowned author from India, wrote a detailed "crypto" obituary, comparing the cryptocurrency sector to communism that promised decentralization but ended up with authoritarianism.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, his column conveniently used a melting Bitcoin (BTC) logo as its featured image.

Bhagat should have picked a more accurate image for his op-ed (melting FTX (FTT) Token?), particularly after looking at Bitcoin's decade-plus history that has seen it surviving even nationwide bans. This includes 465 466 obituaries since its debut in 2009 when it traded for a few cents.

Binance crypto exchange announced on Nov. 17 that deposits of Solana-based USDT and USDC have been “temporarily suspended until further notice” on the platform.

The exchange referred to the tokens as “USDT (SOL)” and “USDC (SOL),” as USDT and USDC stablecoins remain available for deposits on Binance on other blockchains.

Binance did not provide more information on the measure, adding that Binance “reserves the right in its sole discretion to amend or change or cancel this announcement at any time and for any reasons without prior notice.”

Other exchanges, including OKX and ByBit, are also among the platforms delisting Solana-based stablecoins for deposits. OKX exchange suspended the tokens’ deposits at 3:00 AM UTC on Nov. 17, while ByBit reportedly disabled such deposits as of Nov. 17 as well.

Major cryptocurrency exchanges continue to carry out measures in the aftermath of FTX collapse, now halting deposits in Solana-based Tether USDT (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).

Bitcoin (BTC) has flooded out of exchanges in the past week as users become wary of security and regulatory scrutiny.

Data from on-chain monitoring resource Coinglass shows United States exchanges in particular seeing heavy BTC balance reductions.

U.S. exchanges lead BTC exodus

In the wake of the FTX scandal, efforts to draw attention to the risk involved in custodial BTC storage stepped up on social media.

Users appeared to heed the warning, withdrawing over $3 billion in cryptocurrency in the week immediately following the solvency debacle and ordering record numbers of hardware wallets.

The aftermath of FTX is only just beginning, meanwhile, and as regulators plan investigative action and more attention to crypto as a whole, investors angst continues to grow.