Capital Shifts in Crypto: Liquidity, Corrections, and the Future

On a growing market, each correction serves as a mechanism for capital redistribution. In the cryptocurrency sector, where the market is relatively small, profit-taking on major assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) has a significantly negative impact on less capitalized altcoins.

Analogy with traditional markets
Traditional financial markets follow similar principles. Here, Bitcoin can be compared to gold, while altcoins are akin to stocks or bonds. When positions in gold are closed, the fluctuations are less noticeable due to the market's greater liquidity and volume. However, stocks, with their lower capitalization, show significant volatility, leading to an equivalent increase in potential dollar gains.

Depth and structure of the crypto market
The crypto market still lacks depth, predominantly involving small-scale investment funds by global standards. Competition among expert traders and investors is limited, leading to low profitability or zero gain on bear markets, where professionals trade against each other, for instance, Wintermute traders against GSR traders. In traditional markets, where both professionals and retail investors participate, professionals have an advantage due to more variables.

Liquidity and spread
Both markets allow for earning on the spread, although currently, spreads are relatively small. The redistribution of liquidity, especially during market downturns, is driven by both psychological factors and the technical aspects of position closing, particularly when comparing futures trading with combined spot and futures trading.

Indexation and synthetic assets
The creation of indexes in the crypto sphere could be the next step. There are already examples like Reserve Rights (RSR), where real-world assets are tokenized to create stablecoins. Forming indexes similar to the S&P500 or US100 could combine crypto assets by similar characteristics, increasing liquidity and opening new investment avenues. However, this could lead to issues similar to those in 2007 in traditional markets, where "packages" included high-risk assets.

Conclusion
Implementing such tools might soften the liquidity redistribution effect for retail investors but could complicate things for funds and market makers, reducing their ability to buy assets at reduced prices. The cryptocurrency market is at the stage of mass adoption, and upon completion of this process, new forms of digital money may emerge.

Written by Alexander Kostenich (WIDECHAR),
Horban Brothers.