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Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week and a new month on a cautiously positive footing after protecting crucial levels.

After an intense July in which macro factors provided significant volatility, BTC price action managed to provide both a weekly and monthly candle favoring the bulls.

The road to some form of recovery continues, and at some points in recent weeks, it seemed like Bitcoin would suffer even harder on the back of June’s 40% losses.

Now, however, there is already a sense of optimism among analysts, but one thing remains clear — this “bear market rally” does not mean the end of the tunnel yet.

As Summer 2022 enters its final month, Cointelegraph takes a look at the potential market triggers at play for Bitcoin as it lingers near its highest levels since mid-June.

Bitcoin (BTC) miners have been capitulating for almost two months, but an end to the squeeze could already be here.

That was the conclusion from Blockchain infrastructure and cryptocurrency mining firm Blockware as it published its latest Intelligence Newsletter on July 29.

Report: “Expect” capitulation to be done by September

The most recent edition of the market research series highlighted changes in the mining ecosystem apt to switch up a trend in place since early June.

Miners, judging by the hash ribbons metric, have been retiring for an “extended period of time,” Blockware says, and as of Aug. 1, hash ribbons have been signaling capitulation for 55 days.

“The current miner capitulation began June 7th, 2022, and it has lasted a significant amount of time. It’s important to note that miner capitulations are particularly relevant because it reveals that a large number of machines are no longer hashing,” the firm wrote:

Under the mattress, in the seams of a piece of luggage or even rolled into a cigar, what are the worst and best ways for keeping a seed phrase safe? The key to unlocking and recovering cryptocurrency, a seed phrase, should be secured and safe. 

Especially now that prices are low and the crypto tourists have checked out, it might be time for a crypto security spring clean. Security starts with a seed phrase, sometimes called a recovery phrase.

There’s no denying it: Bitcoin and the crypto space writ large are in the clutches of a bear market. Since Do Kwon’s Terra experiment went up in smoke, a crypto contagion has choked the most reputable of exchanges, causing many self-sovereignty advocates to chant, “not your keys, not your coins.”

Indeed, hardly a day goes by that another “trusted” crypto lender freezes customer withdrawals. From Singapore’s crypto lender Vauld to Thailand’s crypto exchange with 200,000 customers, Zipmex, to the world-renowned Celsius exchange, many centralized lending platforms have suffered similar fates, ensuring heartbreaking consequences for customers in 2022.

These circumstances are timely reminders to look after one’s own keys and to ensure they are in a safe place. So, while prices are low and trust in centralized exchanges (places that claim to look after crypto), also hits rock bottom, there is no better time to up the security of one’s crypto assets.

Ether (ETH) is reaching a make-it or break-it point as the network moves away from proof-of-work (PoW) mining. Unfortunately, many novice traders tend to miss the mark when creating strategies to maximize gains on potential positive developments.

For example, buying ETH derivatives contracts is a cheap and easy mechanism to maximize gains. The perpetual futures are often used to leverage positions, and one can easily increase profits five-fold.

So why not use inverse swaps? The main reason is the threat of forced liquidation. If the price of ETH drops 19% from the entry point, the leveraged buyer loses the entire investment.

The main problem is Ether's volatility and its strong price fluctuations. For example, since July 2021, ETH price crashed 19% from its starting point within 20 days in 118 out of 365 days. This means that any 5x leverage long position will have been forcefully terminated.

How pro traders play the “risk reversal” options strategy

Despite the consensus that crypto derivatives are mainly used for gambling and excessive leverage, these instruments were initially designed for hedging.

Ether (ETH) is reaching a make-it or break-it point as the network moves away from proof-of-work (PoW) mining. Unfortunately, many novice traders tend to miss the mark when creating strategies to maximize gains on potential positive developments.

For example, buying ETH derivatives contracts is a cheap and easy mechanism to maximize gains. The perpetual futures are often used to leverage positions, and one can easily increase profits five-fold.

So why not use inverse swaps? The main reason is the threat of forced liquidation. If the price of ETH drops 19% from the entry point, the leveraged buyer loses the entire investment.

The main problem is Ether's volatility and its strong price fluctuations. For example, since July 2021, ETH price crashed 19% from its starting point within 20 days in 118 out of 365 days. This means that any 5x leverage long position will have been forcefully terminated.

How pro traders play the “risk reversal” options strategy

Despite the consensus that crypto derivatives are mainly used for gambling and excessive leverage, these instruments were initially designed for hedging.

Bitcoin (BTC) has made a strong comeback in the month of July and is on track for its best monthly gains since October 2021. The sharp recovery in Bitcoin and several altcoins pushed the Crypto Fear and Greed Index to 42/100 on July 30, its highest level since April 6.

Investors seem to be making the most of the depressed levels in Bitcoin. Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that Bitcoin in exchange wallets has dropped to 2.4 million Bitcoin in July, down from the March 2020 levels of 3.15 million Bitcoin. This has sent the metric to its lowest level since July 2018.

Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone highlighted that the United States Federal Reserve’s indication to consider rate hikes on a “meeting by meeting basis” may lay the groundwork for Bitcoin to outperform most assets. He said that Bitcoin’s “risk vs. reward tilted favorably for one of the greatest bull markets in history."

Could Bitcoin extend its rally in the short term and could that trigger buying in select altcoins? Let’s study the charts of the top-5 cryptocurrencies that may outperform in the near term.

BTC/USDT

Attempts by the bulls to sustain the price above $24,276 have failed in the past two days, indicating that the bears are defending the level with vigor. However, a minor positive is that the bulls have not ceded ground to the bears.

Bitcoin (BTC) has made a strong comeback in the month of July and is on track for its best monthly gains since October 2021. The sharp recovery in Bitcoin and several altcoins pushed the Crypto Fear and Greed Index to 42/100 on July 30, its highest level since April 6.

Investors seem to be making the most of the depressed levels in Bitcoin. Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that Bitcoin in exchange wallets has dropped to 2.4 million Bitcoin in July, down from the March 2020 levels of 3.15 million Bitcoin. This has sent the metric to its lowest level since July 2018.

Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone highlighted that the United States Federal Reserve’s indication to consider rate hikes on a “meeting by meeting basis” may lay the groundwork for Bitcoin to outperform most assets. He said that Bitcoin’s “risk vs. reward tilted favorably for one of the greatest bull markets in history."

Could Bitcoin extend its rally in the short term and could that trigger buying in select altcoins? Let’s study the charts of the top-5 cryptocurrencies that may outperform in the near term.

BTC/USDT

Attempts by the bulls to sustain the price above $24,276 have failed in the past two days, indicating that the bears are defending the level with vigor. However, a minor positive is that the bulls have not ceded ground to the bears.