A classic tug-of-war between Bitcoin buyers and sellers is shaping up on order books, with a BTC price relief bounce sorely needed.
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BTC price liquidity thickens near key support
Bitcoin has liquidated a considerable chunk of longs this week, with a snap retracement “flushing” hundreds of millions of dollars in positions.
Bulls have yet to redress the balance, however, with BTC/USD stuck around $63,000 while still threatening a fresh breakdown.
The latest order book data shows that bids are currently attempting to get filled just below spot price — a common practice which aims to draw the market lower.
As explained by Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, this is ultimately cathartic for a market in need of an upside bounce. Taking bids, he suggested in video analysis uploaded to X (formerly Twitter) on April 16, has historically preceded a run into overhead resistance.
“What we want to see ultimately before we get a move that can have a better chance of breaking through this up here is more bid liquidity — something more akin to what we have seen historically,” he commented on an order book chart.
According to CoinGlass, the largest concentrations of bids, which have appeared in the 24 hours to the time of writing sit at $61,200, $62,200 and $62,800.
Bitcoin liquidation heatmap (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass
Bitcoin funding rates briefly flip negative
Trader sentiment meanwhile is captured by a return to negative funding rates for the first time since October 2023.
In a sea change from recent weeks, especially the period around March’s all-time highs, funding is now back to circling bearish sentiment, with shorts paying longs.
“Looking at the funding rate heatmap from the past 6 months, you can see how March was generally very overheated compared to the rest,” popular trader Daan Crypto Trades wrote in an X response.
“This is normal when prices are trading near new all time highs but also result in the occasional flush of leverage. We just had such a flush.
Bitcoin funding rates heatmap. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X
Trading suite Decentrader noted that the negative funding period, while short lived, was indicative of an overall cooling environment.
“Funding rates are back positive again but it was a sign that derivatives trading exuberance is calming down,” it concluded in its own X thread on the day.
Bitcoin weighted funding rates chart. Source: Decentrader/X
