Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin’s Money-Printing Machine Breaks Down as Futures Fall
- Contango usually indicative of bullishness in market: Carter
- Bitcoin briefly wipes out all of its gains for the year
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One of the most reliable trades in cryptocurrencies has gone awry.
Bitcoin futures, which typically trade at a premium to the spot price, have collapsed along the curve amid a brutal selloff in the world’s largest cryptocurrency. That’s obliterated what’s known as the basis trade, in which a trader would buy Bitcoin in the spot market today and sell long-dated futures, locking in the discrepancy between the two prices.