According to BlockBeats, on August 1st, Bitfinex analysts released a report stating that derivatives traders were largely wiped out during the Bitcoin sell-off at the end of June. Bitcoin fell below $58,000 on July 1st, and since then, the average daily liquidation amount has remained far below the typical $400 million to $500 million range this year, indicating that despite macroeconomic shocks, the pressure of forced selling was minimal. "The crypto market's smaller decline compared to leveraged stock themes is because the 'fuel' for forced selling has been exhausted."
Bitfinex analysts expect investors to remain defensive ahead of next week's US jobs report (the next major macroeconomic catalyst after the Fed meeting). They believe the more critical issue than a renewed round of forced liquidations is whether spot Bitcoin ETF inflows will return once the market has a clearer picture of the Fed's path.
The analysts wrote, "We believe that positions will remain defensive given the lingering risk of a Fed rate hike. Whether institutional buyers are active or insensitive to price movements is the only signal yet to emerge from the traders' positions."