10x Research founder Markus Thielen says Wall Street options trading and profit-taking have made Bitcoin’s sharp, repeated price surges less common. He expects the price to rise quickly on news, then trade sideways until another major economic event.
Thielen estimates that market makers account for up to half of the $60 billion in net spot Bitcoin ETF inflows he analyzed. He says they may hold ETF shares to hedge options trades, so those positions do not necessarily signal a bet on a higher Bitcoin price.
He forecasts Bitcoin could reach $90,000 by year-end, though it could first fall into the mid-to-high $70,000s. He says the move may depend partly on further Federal Reserve rate increases and expects another increase by December. He also expects Bitcoin to outperform Ether, arguing that too much value from Ethereum activity goes to layer-2 networks.
