-
JPMorgan
maintained
its
cautious
view
on
crypto
markets. -
The
bank
said
retail
investors
have
been
taking
profits
in
recent
weeks. -
The
market
is
still
faced
with
headwinds
such
as
elevated
positioning,
the
report
said.
Wall
Street
giant
JPMorgan
(JPM)
said
it’s
keeping
its
cautious
stance
on
cryptocurrency
markets
in
the
near
term
due
to
a
lack
of
positive
catalysts
and
because
the
retail
impulse
is
disappearing.
The
bank
notes
that
retail
investors
sold
both
crypto
and
equity
assets
in
April
and
spot
bitcoin
exchange-traded
funds
(ETFs)
have
seen
outflows.
The
three
headwinds
the
bank
has
already
identified
–
elevated
positioning,
high
bitcoin
prices
versus
gold
and
versus
the
estimated
bitcoin
production
cost,
and
subdued
crypto
venture
capital
(VC)
funding
–
are
also
still
in
place.
Cryptocurrency
markets
have
seen
significant
profit
taking
in
recent
weeks,
with
retail
investors
playing
a
bigger
part
in
the
sell-off
than
institutional
investors,
the
report
said.
Bitcoin
fell
16%
in
April,
the
biggest
monthly
decline
since
June
2022.
Investors
sold
U.S.-based
spot
bitcoin
ETFs
at
the
fastest
pace
ever
on
Wednesday.
The
11
ETFs
saw
a
cumulative
net
outflow
of
$563.7
million,
the
largest
since
the
funds
started
trading
on
Jan.
11.
With
regards
to
institutional
investors,
“it
has
been
mostly
momentum
traders
such
as
commodity
trading
advisors
(CTAs)
or
other
quantitative
funds
taking
profit
on
previous
extreme
long
positions
in
both
bitcoin
and
gold,”
analysts
led
by
Nikolaos
Panigirtzoglou
wrote.
Still,
analysis
of
the
futures
market
suggests
a
“more
limited
position
reduction
by
other
institutional
investors
outside
quantitative
funds
and
CTAs,”
the
authors
wrote.
