Traders Predict Bitcoin Price to Drop Below $100K by Year-End

As concerns about US stagflation weigh on the cryptocurrency market, traders on the Polymarket platform are betting on a more than 50% chance that the price of bitcoin will drop below $100,000 before the end of the year. This prediction is based on the current economic data, with recent manufacturing and services ISMs coming in weaker than expected, indicating a potential slowdown in job growth. According to Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, the implications of these surveys are significant, with potential non-farm payroll prints dropping by over 100,000, which could lead to a recession. While interest-rate traders have increased their bets on a Fed reduction, observers are divided on whether rate cuts will benefit risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. The options market sees a lower chance of bitcoin dropping below $100,000 by year-end, with the December expiry $100K put having a delta of -0.25. Meanwhile, the outlook for ether appears more positive, following the SEC's guidance on staking activities and the potential approval of spot ether ETFs. In other news, Japan's largest bank, SBI, has announced a bitcoin and XRP ETF, and the Metamask community is considering launching a stablecoin called MetaMask USD.