Bitcoin Cash – Can BCH target $480 as CME Futures launch nears?

Bitcoin Cash [BCH] price jumped 27.71% at press time, after CME Group announced plans to launch regulated BCH Futures on October 19, pending full regulatory review.

Particularly, the announcement provided an important institutional catalyst as the token recorded one of its strongest recent price rallies. Besides, the CME’s planned contracts would also introduce regulated exposure to Bitcoin Cash without mandating market participants to hold the asset directly.

Additionally, trading activity also expanded sharply following the development, with spot volume climbing 285.6% to $1.38 billion. More importantly, the market responded weeks before the scheduled October 19 launch instead of waiting for Futures trading.

The approaching launch could therefore widen institutional reach while giving market participants another regulated element for BCH exposure.

Fresh leverage follows BCH higher

As BCH price rallied, the interest across derivatives markets also expanded alongside BCH’s as traders increased their exposure.

Specifically, the derivatives volume surged 300.13% to $2.35 billion as of writing, substantially exceeding the percentage increase recorded across the spot markets.

Furthermore, the token’s Open Interest (OI) also jumped 38.71% to $588.06 million as traders established fresh positions. Also notably, the rise emerged as BCH’s price appreciated, implying that new exposure entered instead of the existing positions closing.

This combination, therefore, provided another component of market participation behind BCH’s upward move towards its key resistance level.

Noteworthy, the sharply expanding leverage, however, also left price more vulnerable to sudden positioning shifts around the key resistance zone.

Why BCH traders must watch THIS key resistance 

On the weekly chart, BCH’s technical structure changed significantly after the price finally broke above its descending channel, crossing the crucial $309.2 change of character (CHoCH) level.

Notably, the bullish CHoCH challenged the previous bearish structure as BCH recovered from the $200 support area. The price subsequently hit the $340.6 level, stopping just short of the major $346.9 resistance.

A successful breakout above that major resistance zone could expose the larger $480 resistance region as the next crucial upside area. Supporting buyers, the RSI indicator also climbed to 54.31 at the time of writing, and crossed above its neutral midpoint during the price increase.

Additionally, the MACD indicator also strengthened above its signal line, as its positive histogram rose to 17.8 as the metric reversed from the negative territory.

However, a price rejection at $346.9 resistance could return the token towards the $309.2-CHoCH area before attempting another breakout.

Long liquidations expose leverage pressure

Despite BCH’s broader strength, the liquidation data provided another crucial dimension as leveraged longs absorbed most forced closures.

As per CoinGlass data, the total liquidations reached roughly $420.15K, with long positions accounting for nearly $288.78K. The short liquidations, meanwhile, recorded about $131.37K, considerably below the amount recorded among the leveraged buyers.

This imbalance reflected considerable intraday volatility as the leveraged traders positioned themselves around BCH’s rapid price increase. That volatility, therefore, carried additional significance as the token’s OI climbed 38.71% to $588.06 million.

Additionally, leverage growth could trigger fluctuations as BCH confronts the $346.9-resistance. But still, price had already cleared the $309.2 CHoCH and shifted its broader weekly structure.

Final Summary

• CME’s October 19 Futures launch could bring deeper institutional participation into the BCH market.

• BCH’s bullish CHoCH shifted its structure, with $346.9 now deciding further upside.