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QCP Asia Colour - 3 July 24

- The US equity market surged to new highs following Powell's statement that the US economy is progressing along its disinflationary path.

- However, this bullish momentum has not translated to BTC and ETH, with prices hovering just above 60k & 3300 respectively.

- Despite the sell-off, the options market is still heavily skewed in favor of the topside, suggesting that the market is still anticipating a year-end rally. This aligns with the desk's observation of significant buying interest in the longer-term options at the 100/120k strike.

- Looking ahead, we anticipate a subdued Q3 for BTC as the market remains uncertain around the supply from the Mt. Gox release.

Trade idea
Generate 15% p.a. yield on your BTC
while waiting for the looming Mt. Gox supply to clear up and reveal clear blue skies.

CFCC (Coin underlying)
Maturity: 27SEP24
Weekly Coupon Rate: 15% p.a. if BTC/USD fixes above 58,000
Strike: 70,000
Protection Level: 80,000

Only if spot price is above 80k at expiry, BTC will be converted to USD at 70k strike.
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QCP Asia Colour - 4 July 24

- Yet another day of heavy selling pressure, causing BTC to fall below the 60k support level and reaching lows of 57,875.

- BTC miners are showing signs of capitulation. Historically this has been associated with a bottom in prices with the last comparable hash rate drawdown occurring in 2022 when BTC traded to 17,000.

- Despite the sell-off in crypto, the options market is still optimistic as we continue to see interest heavily skewed towards ETH Calls for Sep and Dec expiries.

What could cause prices to break this downtrend?
1- Liquidation clusters on BTC and ETH are heavily skewed to the topside, opening up potential short squeezes.
2- With S-1 Form approvals round the corner, an approval may result in a hard bounce in ETH.

Trade Idea:
Given the recent sell pressure originating from BTC and driven by factors like Mt. Gox, miners, and government regulations, we believe ETH has the potential for a stronger rebound due to upcoming S-1 filings. An ETH KIKO helps you position for this rebound while providing downside protection.

ETH KIKOs (Knock-In, Knock-Out)
Expiry: 27SEP24
Sell 3k Put (Knock-in: 2.5k)
Buy 3.6k Call (Knock-out: 5.5k)
Cost: ZERO
Max payout: 271.96% pa or $1,900 USD per ETH if spot expires just below 5,500

Downside: At expiry, if spot is below 2,500, you buy ETH at 3,000

(Spot ref: 3,210)
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QCP New York Colour - 5 July 24

- Crypto prices corrected violently in Asia today with BTC and ETH trading below $54,000 and $2,900 respectively, before recovering to $55,000 and $2,950 ahead of the US open.

- Front-end vols spiked as market makers scrambled to buy gamma.

Reasons for the dip

- The market reacted to news of imminent BTC supply which included transfers by Mt. Gox and the German Government. Speculators likely oversold heavily in anticipation, triggering liquidations around $58,000 in thin markets over the US holiday.

Our view

- Spot prices have stabilised suggesting decent support around 54k. Panic has also died down with front-end vols easing significantly from 65 to below 50 for BTC and from 80 to 62 for ETH.

- Today’s US jobs data showed downward revisions for both the April and May numbers. This confirms Powell's disinflationary path and potentially earlier rate cuts with both September and December starting to price a higher probability.

Trade Idea

The desk has seen a rush from clients to deploy Accumulators today. The vol spike plus dip in spot price allows one to collect ETH below 2700 (a 9.6% discount!)

ETH Accumulator
Buy ETH spot at 9.6% discount (2,680) every week

Maturity: 27SEP24 (12 Weeks)
Strike: 2,680 (-9.62%)
Upper Barrier: 3,550 (+19.73%)
Observation Frequency: Weekly

Spot Ref: 2,960 ETHUSD
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QCP London & New York Colour - 8 July 24

- Equities and Gold have been bouncing higher from the start of last week but crypto prices have gone the other way. What is going on?!

- We did see actual heavy spot selling early last week, particularly around 3 - 4pm New York time. Perhaps this is the large supply mentioned in the headlines (the German government and Mt Gox distributions) actually hitting the market.

- However, the gap lower in prices occurred into the 4th of July US holiday and prices only found support the next day when the US came back in to buy (more than $143m net inflow for BTC spot ETFs on Friday).

- Into the weekend, prices continued to chop violently on very thin liquidity with BTC trading in an unusually large 53.5k-58.5k range.

- Is this a new norm where crypto prices gap in larger ranges due to poor liquidity outside of US hours? Or is this just a summer phenomenon with the market missing strong narratives, getting spooked by headlines and getting shoved around by large flows?

Trade Idea (New Strategy Alert!)
If you are not sure which way the market is going , make a return both ways with Twin-Win, a zero-downside and zero-cost strategy that profits from a move in either direction.

BTC Twin-Win (27-Dec)
Max Payout: $10,000 per BTC if spot is just below 67,500 or just above 47,500 at expiry.
(Profit is earned as long as at expiry, BTC is above or below 57.5k, and remains below 67.5k or above 47.5k)
Zero-downside: USD deployed is returned in FULL at expiry.
Cost: Zero
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QCP Asia Colour - 9 July 24

- BTC prices dropped to $55.2K during early US trading on Monday after the German Police moved $900 million worth of BTC to exchanges. The market was initially spooked but quickly rebounded.

- We are seeing glimmers of bullishness due to:

1. $200 million worth of BTC was later returned to the German Police from the exchanges, indicating these assets didn’t hit the market.

2. Strong demand shown by quick dip-buying, supported by $295 million ETF inflows on July 8, the highest in 21 days.

3. Despite thin liquidity, BTC and ETH have made higher lows this week, with dips bought up aggressively.

- The market is highly reactive to supply movements, suggesting speculative selling pressure rather than real spot demand. This may indicate a market over-positioning for the downside.

- A catalyst is needed. The ETH spot ETF is set to start trading around July 15. Positive reception could boost liquidity and potentially surprise the market with an upward move.

Trade Idea

Recommend deploying into OTM ERKOs, anticipating a breakout with minimal cash outlay and zero downside risk.

BTC Call ERKO (60/70K 27-SEP)
Max Payout: $10,000 per BTC (6.1x) if BTC spot price is just below 70k at expiry
Cost: $1,650 per BTC
(Spot Ref: 57,600)

ETH Call ERKO (4/5K 27-SEP)
Max Payout: $1,000 per ETH (12.5x) if ETH spot price is just below 5k at expiry
Cost: $80 per ETH
(Spot Ref: 3,090)
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QCP London Colour - 10 July 24

The macro backdrop has turned rosier over the past week, and we think crypto has bottomed as we were unable to break lower despite the huge selling pressure.

We maintain our bullishness due to the following tailwinds:

1. Labour numbers have come in softer the past week, and even Powell's testimony to the Senate reaffirmed that market conditions were heading towards their end goal.

2. Despite over 6000 BTC being sold by the German Police, and the Sword of Damocles being the Mt Gox release hanging over us, BTC has formed a double bottom and failed to break below 54k.

3. Softer CPI numbers tomorrow could finally cement the Fed's decision to cut in Sep and Dec.

4. The flurry of S-1 revisions for ETH spot ETFs could also signal that trading is slated to happen soon. We believe it will happen this month, especially if applicants announce fee schedules.

Trade Idea
We continue to prefer strategies that provide convex payoffs. ETH Sharkfins and OTM ERKOs continue to be attractive, especially with ETH ETFs looking to be around the corner.

Bullish BTC Sharkfin
Maturity: 27DEC24
Strike: 61,000
Knockout: 80,000
Max Payout: 66.88% p.a.

Get paid up to 66.88% p.a if BTC expires just below 80,000 at expiry.
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QCP Asia Market Color - 11 Jul 24

- Tonight’s CPI release has captured everyone’s attention. The market anticipates a 70% chance of a rate cut in September. This optimism has been reflected in the continued rally in equities but has yet to be priced into the crypto market.

- BTC front-end volatility increased by 5 points this morning, with risk reversals favoring the topside, signaling the market's anticipation of potential topside volatility.

- Yesterday, the German government transferred 10k BTC to exchanges and market makers. The wallet now holds only 15k BTC out of the 50k it originally held in mid-June, suggesting a possible easing of supply pressure.

Trade Idea
With the perceived reduction in supply, a softer CPI print could serve as the catalyst to break out of this range, especially bolstered by the upcoming launch of ETH spot ETF trading next week. We identify a compelling risk-reward opportunity on the upside through Digitals.

ETH 26-Jul Call DIGI
Strike: 4k
Payout: 10x
(of prems spent if spot fixes at-or-above strike at expiry)
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QCP Weekend Brief – 12 Jul 24

Some stability returned to the market this week with BTC and ETH making a decisive recovery to 58k and 3100.

What caused this relief rally?

1. Positive macro sentiment with inflation slowing down. The market is now pricing 95% chance for a rate cut in September.

2. ⁠The German Govt has completed their 50k BTC sale and spot price has held up well.

3. ⁠Strong demand from the spot ETFs with around $1B of net inflow this week.

What is the vol market telling us?

While crypto twitter and retail sentiment has been screaming panic, large hedge funds have been confidently and aggressively buying BTC topside, particularly December and March calls targeting 100-120k price level.

What is the best play here?

BTC accumulators are more compelling than ever with spot stabilising at these levels and steepness of the vol curve.

BTC Accumulator
Buy BTC spot at 13.5% discount (50k)
every week as long as spot is below 65k

Maturity: 27DEC24 (24 weeks)
Strike: 50,000 (-13.5%)
Upper Barrier: 65,000 (+12.5%)
Observation Frequency: Weekly

Spot ref: 57,800 BTCUSD
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QCP Market Colour – 15 Jul 24

The failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump at the beginning of the weekend triggered a rally in crypto prices. The strong upside momentum continued into the Monday Asia session, driven by aggressive programmatic buying of BTC on Coinbase from 5am to 1pm SGT (a highly unusual flow for Sunday evening in the US).

This whole move seems to be caused by the market pricing in a Trump win at the coming election (similar to Reagan after a failed assassination attempt in 1981) and this is positive for crypto prices because of his overtly pro-crypto stance.

We think that the market was already positioned for a rally with the German government having exhausted their supply and also with large hedge funds aggressively buying calls last week. Trump was the perfect trigger for a market raring to go long.

The question is whether this bullishness carries on. Will the US open see a big short squeeze? We've started to see some institutional players hedging the downside on the rally by buying near-dated puts. Perhaps the US will fade the move instead.

We maintain our medium term bullish view given the continued large demand from BTC spot ETF inflows and also the imminent ETH spot ETF launch as a catalyst.

Trade Idea:

🚨New Strategy Alert

BTC Win-Range
Earn multiples if you have a clear target price range. For example, if you think BTC will be between 75k and 85k at the end of September, profit 5x by deploying a BTC 75/85k Sep Win-Range.

Payout: 5x 
Maturity: 27-Sep
Range: 75k / 85k
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ETH spot ETF Update:

SEC request for ‘FINAL S-1s’ to be submitted and requested ‘effectiveness on Monday after close for a TUESDAY 7/23 LAUNCH

Trade Idea
ETH ETF Win-Range
Get paid 5x returns if ETH fixes between the range

Maturity: 26-Jul
Range: 3900 to 4100
Payout: 5x

(Spot Ref: 3490 ETHUSD)
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QCP Macro Colour - 17 July 24

The past 2 weeks saw market participants panicking as BTC traded lower to 54k and alts got flushed 30%. As blood flowed on the streets, we continued to hold on to our medium term bullish view.

We weren't wearing rose-tinted glasses when we said the macro picture was turning rosier. Powell, in his recent communications and interviews, mentioned that a lot of progress has been made in curbing inflation. Markets are now pricing in a 100% chance of a rate cut in Sep!

The flows from the German police have concluded, and despite the impending distribution of BTC from Mt Gox, markets found a strong bid to bring BTC over 65k.

The ETH spot ETF looks like a done deal with the SEC asking for final revisions to S-1 filings and fee schedules. Analysts predict trading will begin on 23rd Jul.

Lastly, Trump picking J.D. Vance as his Vice President provides another positive catalyst. Vance holds BTC, and we expect him to lobby for crypto friendly regulations if Trump gets elected.

Trade Idea
We continue to like trades with topside convexity as mentioned in our previous broadcasts. With the forward basis also moving higher (10-12% ann.yield), the payoffs are much more attractive.

ETH ENHANCED SHARKFIN
Spot Ref: 3,500 ETHUSD
Maturity: 27DEC24
Base Coupon: 2% p.a.
Max Payout: 76.64%

Strike: 3,750 ETH/USD
Barrier: 5,000 ETH/USD

Get paid up to 76.64% p.a. if ETH expires just below 5,000 at expiry. Even if ETH expires below 3,750 or above 5,000, you still get paid a 2% p.a. coupon.
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Trade Idea
ETH 26-Jul Win Range
Receive 5x payout
if ETH expires within the range on 26-Jul

1) Bullish
Range: 3800 to 4100

2) Bearish
Range 3150 to 2900

Payout: 5x

(Spot Ref: 3480 ETHUSD)
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QCP Asia Market Color - 19 Jul 24

- Price action this week has been rather resilient especially against the backdrop of continued Mt. Gox supply and tanking equities. Could this be a sign that the market has shaken off most of its worries?

- Perp funding is back to flat, vols are drifting lower and BTC is back in the familiar range of 61k to 71k where it traded within for the entire of Q2 this year.

- While spot could range here in the near term, especially with dealers very long the 26-Jul 67k Strike, the market is definitely betting big on a breakout heading into the US elections.

- Even with lower spot overnight, we continued to see sizeable institutional interest in Dec 100k Calls. This signals an even stronger conviction of a year-end rally as the odds of a Trump victory increases.

Trade Idea:

With BTC comfortably in the middle of the 61k - 71k range, similar to Q2, a short-term Principal Protected Range Accrual could be an optimal strategy before the potential big breakout later in the year.

Principal Protected Range Accrual (USD Principal)
Receive weekly 27% p.a. coupon if BTC is trading between 61k and 71k during observation

Maturity: 11-Oct (12 weeks)
Coupon Rate: 27% p.a. in USD if BTC/USD fixes at-or-within Coupon Range, 0% pa otherwise
Coupon Range: 61k to 71k
Coupon Frequency: Weekly from 26-Jul
(BTC spot ref: 63,500)
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QCP Asia Market Color - 22 Jul 24

US election continues to drive volatility in risk assets, starting with Trump’s assassination attempt and his remarks that Taiwan should pay the US for its protection, which spooked semiconductor equities.

A major development last night saw Biden step down from the race and endorse Kamala Harris. This caused erratic crypto movements, with BTC gapping down over 1000 points before grinding back up to $68K today.

Election headlines will keep driving market volatility, especially for crypto, with all eyes on Trump’s upcoming appearance at the Nashville Bitcoin conference this weekend.

What is the options market whispering?


Options market volatility has surged due to these uncertainties. Prices for out-of-the-money options have increased significantly in the past 24 hours, indicating expectations for more extreme market movements.

Trade Idea:
With a clearer picture of the US election and a higher likelihood of a second rate cut by year-end, we continue to favor trades with topside convexity.

BTC Win-Range
Get paid 5x returns if BTC fixes within the range.

Maturity: 27-Dec
Range: 90000 to 110000
Payout: 5x
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QCP Broadcast
QCP Asia Market Color - 22 Jul 24 US election continues to drive volatility in risk assets, starting with Trump’s assassination attempt and his remarks that Taiwan should pay the US for its protection, which spooked semiconductor equities. A major development…
Additional Trade Idea:

If you are bullish BTC into Trump's speech this weekend at Nashville.
BTC Win-Range (2 August expiry) pays 4x if BTC price is between 72k and 77k at expiry.
(spot ref: 67k)
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SEC officially approves spot ETH ETF for trading tomorrow (23-July)

The lack of positive reaction is a negative reaction. Market seems to be seeing who folds first to ‘sell the news’

Trade Idea
When life gives you lemons, make 4x returns with our Win Range

Expiry: 26-July
Range: 3250 to 3100
Payout: 4x (of premiums spent if ETH fixes within the range on friday)
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QCP London Market Color - 23 Jul 24

The market's reaction to the ETH Spot ETF launch has been muted, with investors waiting to see if it follows the "buy the hype, sell the news" pattern. For comparison, BTC dropped to $38k after its ETF launch highs but broke all-time highs two months later.

US Government and Mt Gox
.
- U.S. Government transferred 58.742 BTC to Coinbase this morning, and currently holds a total of 213.239k BTC (~14.2b USD)
- Mt Gox also moved a total of ~47.6k BTC to other wallets, including Bitstamp.

Options Market
- While spot prices remain muted, the options market is painting a different picture. 26 Jul vols made an impressive 8-vol rally with RR dipping by 3 vols signalling caution to the downside.
- The options market seems to be expecting more downside movement in the near term, exacerbated by the US Government and Mt Gox news.

Trade Idea

With the ETH Spot ETF potentially not impacting prices on the outset, coupled with potential selling pressure from the US Government and Mt Gox, prices may remain subdued until momentum builds up leading to the elections.

BTC Principal Protected Range Accrual (USD Principal)

Receive weekly 25% p.a. coupon if BTC is trading between 60k and 74k during observation.

Maturity: 18-Oct (12 weeks)
Coupon Rate: 25% p.a. in USD if BTC/USD fixes at-or-within Coupon Range, 0% p.a. otherwise
Coupon Range: 60k to 74k
Coupon Frequency: Weekly from 2-Aug

BTC Spot Reference: 67,000
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QCP Asia Market Color - 24 Jul 24

- The highly anticipated ETH spot ETF commenced trading last evening, yet the expected market fireworks failed to materialize.

- ETH volatility sold off across the term structures, and the premium of ETH to BTC vols on the frontend has finally reversed, with BTC 1-week and 2-week options trading at 1-3 points higher than ETH now.

- Net inflows were $107 million on the first day of trading, as compared to $655 million for BTC, largely due to a $484 million outflow from ETHE.

- We maintain a positive ETH outlook. BTC's achievement of an all-time high two months post-ETF launch provides a compelling precedent. Anticipating sustained institutional interest, ETH's price trajectory may gradually converge with its previous ATH.

Trade Idea

As the dust settles, we anticipate a decline in ETH volatility heading into the weekend. Since it is still at a decent level, we believe implementing an Accumulator strategy might be the best way to capitalize on this slow upward movement.

ETH Accumulator
Buy ETH spot at 10.1% discount (3,100) every week as long as spot is below 3,900.

Maturity: 6DEC24 (20 weeks)
Strike: 3,100 (-10.1%)
Upper Barrier: 3,900 (+13.0%)
Observation Frequency: Weekly

Spot ref: 3,450 ETHUSD
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QCP Weekend Brief – 27 Jul 24

Spot ETH ETF
The first week of spot ETH ETF trading looked like BTC spot ETF launch déjà vu all over again, with ETH retracing from 3563 highs to 3086 lows.

Why the repeat?
1. The hefty 2.5% fee by Grayscale once again continues to drive the outflow. To date, we have had 178m USD net outflows from the 8 ETFs with Grayscale accounting for 1.16b worth in just 4 days.

2. Despite Grayscale introducing a Mini ETF (ETH) with the most competitive fee of 0.15%, net outflows continue to dominate with only 10% of the initial ETHE being converted to ETH.

3. ⁠Crypto market pulling the classic ‘buy the hype sell the news’. Over positioning into an event and rushing out when there’s a lack of positive reaction.

What's preventing a post-ETF rally?
1. Unlike BTC’s digital gold tagline, ETH can be quite an abstract concept to the TradFi world and requires time for further uptake.

2. ⁠Investors are less incentivized to buy spot ETH ETFs without the staking feature.

Options Market
Ironically, BTC stole the limelight in the options market this week instead of ETH with all eyes on Trump’s speech Bitcoin 2024 this Sunday.

After experiencing the “Trump Effect” last weekend, the options market is expecting huge fireworks with implied vols for 28-Jul being priced at 85 vols, almost double the realized vols.

The options desk saw huge topside positioning by big funds for 2-Aug expiry throughout the week, in anticipation of a breakout move by Trump as well as dovish FOMC next Tuesday.

Trade Ideas
a) Bullish - The Trump Card
Make 701.9% p.a. returns if BTC expires at 72k next Friday (2-Aug).

Expiry: 2 Aug 24
Sell 1x BTC 65k Put
Buy 3.75x BTC 70/72/74k Call Fly
Cost: Zero
Max Return: 701.9% p.a
. or $7,500 USD per BTC if spot expires AT 72k
Downside: At expiry, if spot is below 65,000, you buy BTC at 65,000


b) Bearish - Sell The News
Make 3x returns if BTC expires between 65k and 63k

Expiry: 2 Aug 24
Range: 65k to 63k
Payout: 3x (of premiums spent, if BTC expires within the range)

(Spot Ref: 68,000)
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QCP Asia Colour – July 29, 2024

Key Highlights from Trump’s Bitcoin Conference Speech

If elected:
* The U.S. government will retain 100% of Bitcoin acquired from seized assets.
* Gary Gensler will be removed from office on day one.
* Energy costs will be reduced to promote domestic mining.
* The right to self-custody of cryptocurrencies will be upheld.
* Creation of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) will be banned.
* A framework for stablecoins will be introduced.
* Operation Chokepoint 2.0 will be terminated.
* Ross Ulbricht’s sentence will be commuted.
* The U.S. will aim to become the global crypto capital.

Despite Bitcoin's volatility during Trump's Bitcoin Conference speech, the market did not experience the dramatic movement anticipated by options traders. Bitcoin remains within the $67,000-$70,000 range, and volatility has sharply declined.

Trump’s speech echoed industry expectations, but the market may require a more significant catalyst for a major breakout. This catalyst could materialize closer to the U.S. elections when promises and policies are more clearly defined.

Trade Idea:
With Bitcoin failing to breach its ATH despite Trump's optimistic remarks, it is plausible that Bitcoin will continue trading in a range.

Principal Protected Range Accrual (USD Principal)
Receive weekly 30% p.a. coupon if BTC is trading between 65k and 75k during observation.

Maturity: 25-Oct (12 weeks)
Coupon Rate: 30% p.a. in USD if BTC/USD fixes at-or-within Coupon Range, 0% pa otherwise
Coupon Range: 65k to 75k
Coupon Frequency: Weekly from 9-Aug

(BTC spot ref: 69,500)
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