After a tumultuous week, the Bitcoin price is starting to find its footing again, rising from major support around the $115,000 level. Currently, the pioneer cryptocurrency looks to be on the path of recovery and possibly moving toward new highs this week as momentum picks up. There is also the possibility of a coming short squeeze, as explained by crypto analyst Luca on X, using recent developments that show that the recent crash may have only been temporary.

Bitcoin Shows Tendency To Cross $123,000 Again

In an X post, Luca pointed to the Bitcoin market makers as the ones behind the recent price movements and that there was a reason for this. The initial move downward looked to be an attempt to flush out late longs as crypto traders tried to take advantage of the frenzy created by the new all-time highs.

Related Reading

Then a reversal moved into the works, catching shorters unaware and sweeping liquidity at support levels. This comes as bears were pulled into a false sense of security, believing that the price would continue to decline before being hit with the move back up above $118,000, triggering hundreds of millions of dollars in liquidations.

All of this is happening at a time when things like the Bitcoin funding rate were falling. Coinglass data shows the Bitcoin OI-Weighted Funding Rate had fallen briefly below 0.01% on Sunday after reaching as high as 0.0167% earlier in the week on July 23. Luca further revealed that the Bitcoin Premium metric had also fallen back into the negative.

Another interesting fact was the fact that the open interest had shot up when the Bitcoin price had declined. Then, once the price began to recover, the open interest began to rise once again, and Luca interprets this as short positions starting to get squeezed. If this squeeze continues, then the Bitcoin price could spike very quickly, taking out tens of thousands of short positions with it.

Related Reading

BTC Open Interest Tells A Story Of Exposure

As the Bitcoin price has bounced between $115,000 and $120,000, the BTC open interest has barreled upwards in response. In fact, this metric sits at all-time high levels, shaking off the market uncertainty as crypto traders continue to open positions to bet on Bitcoin’s next move.

The open interest had touched $87.89 billion back on July 15, and since then, it has averaged above $80 billion every day. Amid this, the Binance Long/Short ratio shows that shorters are currently dominating at 53.97% compared to 46.03% for long accounts. This lends credence to Luca’s expectations that the market could see a short squeeze to take out shorters and push the price to new all-time highs.

Featured image from Dall.E, chart from TradingView.com

So Much Winning: According to multiple analysts, Donald Trump introduced his unprecedented tariff plan in an effort to force manufacturers to return to the US. If that was truly the goal, the tariffs ended up being instrumental in achieving the exact opposite outcome.

The so-called “reciprocal tariffs” imposed by the Trump administration could push major PC manufacturers to find new production hubs, and it likely won’t be in the US. Earlier this month, laptop makers were already forced to halt shipments to the US due to tariff-related uncertainty and logistical chaos. Now, some of the world’s largest PC brands appear to be eyeing Saudi Arabia as their next manufacturing base.

According to a recent report by DigiTimes, Lenovo, HP, and Dell are actively exploring new manufacturing initiatives in the Middle Eastern kingdom. Lenovo publicly announced its plans earlier this year, stating that the move is part of a broader strategy to diversify operations and gain privileged access to markets in the Middle East and Africa.

Lenovo’s initiative is backed by a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a massive $620 billion fund aimed at transforming the kingdom’s economy beyond its dependence on fossil fuels. PIF is also expected to play a role in supporting HP and Dell’s potential relocations, although progress on those fronts has been slower.

The two US-based OEMs have dispatched teams to Saudi Arabia after being approached by local government authorities. These scouting teams are tasked with assessing the situation on the ground and identifying potential sites for new manufacturing facilities. Sources indicate the new plants would likely be located near Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

In addition, Riyadh officials have extended invitations to several original design manufacturers including Foxconn, Quanta, Wistron, Compal, and Inventec. These companies are capable of both designing and manufacturing their own products and typically require specific industrial conditions to meet their production goals. To attract OEMs and ODMs, Saudi Arabia is offering a range of exclusive incentives including covering the full cost of constructing the new facilities.

Relocating to Saudi Arabia could offer manufacturers strategic advantages amid current global economic volatility. While Donald Trump has imposed a steep 245 percent tariff on imports from China, Saudi Arabia faces a relatively modest 10 percent reciprocal tariff. For OEMs, improved access to Middle East and African markets is an appealing proposition, while ODMs may also leverage existing operations in Mexico to circumvent US tariffs altogether.

Binance has banned another market maker and frozen its assets after identifying certain irregularities.

The top global crypto exchange didn’t identify the market maker but noted that it operated for the Ethereum (ETH)-based layer-2 project Movement (MOVE).

Movement uses Move, a programming language originally built by a consortium backed by tech giant Meta for the now-defunct Diem project. The language was then used to develop layer-1 blockchains Sui (SUI) and Aptos (APT).

The project’s native token launched via Binance’s Airdrops Portal in December, but the exchange says that after MOVE was listed, the now-banned market maker sold approximately 66 million MOVE tokens on December 10th, with few buy orders. The market maker ended up netting a profit of $38 million worth of the stablecoin USDT before being offboarded last week.

Binance notified the Movement teams and froze the market maker’s proceeds to compensate users.

The exchange also notes the market maker was associated with another entity it banned earlier this month. The name of the other banned market maker also wasn’t disclosed, though Binance said it operated as a liquidity provider for the decentralized security layer GoPlus Security (GPS) and the AI consumer project MyShell (SHELL).

MOVE is up nearly 24% in the past 24 hours. The 77th-ranked crypto asset by market cap is trading at $0.546 at time of writing.

Follow us on X, Facebook and Telegram

Don’t Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox

Check Price Action

Surf The Daily Hodl Mix

&nbsp

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Generated Image: Midjourney

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

In a thread on X this morning, Synthetix founder Kain Warwick offered a stark look into the inner workings of crypto market makers (MMs) and their evolution over the years. Warwick recounted his personal experiences, both favorable and unfavorable, with various MMs in the space and highlighted how some have resorted to dubious practices—particularly during and after the ICO boom.

Crypto Market Makers Exploiting Projects And Traders

Warwick began by recalling the initial market conditions during the 2017 Initial Coin Offering (ICO) era, stating that it was then “practically impossible to raise without having a deal in place with several ‘market makers.’” The monthly cost for such arrangements, he noted, could reach as high as “$50k–$300k+.” Despite high costs, these deals were considered essential for attracting large investors and securing listings on prominent exchanges.

However, Warwick emphasized that some MMs quickly pivoted to questionable activities, which often resulted in being barred from top-tier exchanges. “Even by late 2017 Binance was kicking them off the exchange regularly for various shenanigans,” he wrote. He described how these MMs manipulated volumes on less reputable (or “tier 3”) exchanges through crossing orders with themselves—a strategy he claims they could not replicate on platforms like Binance or Kraken.

One of the major evolutions in market-making arrangements, according to Warwick, was the adoption of call option structures. He pinpointed that “many ‘market makers’ just yolo pumped tokens, exercised the calls and dumped everything,” contrasting them with “good market makers” who “aim for tight spreads” and remain “delta neutral.” Euro calls, he explained, are less prone to manipulation than American calls because of their exercise restrictions. In Warwick’s words, “American calls were mostly for extraction.”

He further traced the rise of “low float meta,” attributing its popularization to Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and describing how some MMs and funds exploit discounted tokens for “exit liquidity.” With fewer tokens circulating, price surges become easier to engineer, and those holding large blocks can “short the top on TGE, cover at the bottom and then pump it into low liquidity later.”

Warwick also referenced his prior dealings with DWF Labs, revealing that Synthetix “was the first project to be grifted by DWF Labs.” He contended that while such deals may help a project’s treasury in the short term, they often harm the token and community over the long run.

In his closing remarks, Warwick urged market participants to scrutinize token transfers carefully. “Be very wary if you see a huge block of tokens sent to a ‘market maker,’ they are likely just prepping you as exit liquidity,” he warned, calling for greater “transparency” and heightened skepticism when confronted with sudden liquidity spikes and behind-the-scenes deals.

Although Warwick acknowledged that the environment today differs from the ICO heyday, his statements highlight ongoing concerns over questionable market maker practices—reminding both projects and investors to remain vigilant.

At press time, the total crypto market cap was at $2.83 trillion.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.