Meltem Demirors, the Chief Strategy Officer of CoinShares, has identified two key catalysts contributing to Bitcoin’s strong performance in the market. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, she disagreed with the idea that the banking crisis or lack of trust in the banking industry is the primary driver behind Bitcoin’s recent price movements.

The first catalyst is investors’ growing interest to take risks, despite concerns about the overall economic situation and expectations regarding interest rates. Additionally, there is anticipation surrounding the upcoming halving event in April of next year, during which the rewards earned by Bitcoin miners will be reduced by half.

The second catalyst is increased exposure to Bitcoin through derivative trading. Demirors believes that these factors, along with Bitcoin’s decreased correlation with global equities, are contributing to the current market trends.

Demirors does not think the recent interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve aimed at curbing inflation will hinder Bitcoin’s performance. However, she notes that decentralized finance (DeFi) projects seem to be affected by the high-interest rates.

The DeFi space has experienced a slowdown due to a decline in yields, with on-chain activity for Bitcoin and Ethereum dropping by approximately 15% in April. Stablecoin activity and volumes have also decreased by around 40% on both the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks, which are the primary trade pairs for most crypto derivatives.

Demirors predicts a new crypto cycle in the near future, with many people getting involved in the derivatives sector of the market.

By Sohrab Khawas | Original Link