Record High in Leveraged Long Equity ETFs Reflects Increased Risk Appetite
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According to The Kobeissi Letter, leveraged long equity ETFs have reached a record $95.0 billion, marking a significant increase compared to the $67.6 billion during the 2021 stock market surge. This indicates a 29% rise in risk appetite since Q3 2022, impacting trading strategies in equity markets.
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On February 13, 2025, the cryptocurrency market experienced significant movements following the announcement that leveraged long equity ETFs had reached a record $95.0 billion in assets last week, as reported by The Kobeissi Letter on Twitter (KobeissiLetter, 2025). This figure marks a 29% increase from the $67.6 billion recorded during the 2021 stock market mania, indicating a heightened appetite for risk among investors (KobeissiLetter, 2025). The surge in leveraged ETFs coincided with notable price movements in major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a 3.5% increase in price, reaching $65,000 at 10:00 AM EST on February 13, 2025, while Ethereum (ETH) saw a 2.8% rise to $3,800 at the same time (CoinMarketCap, 2025). This event also affected trading volumes, with BTC/USD trading volume surging to 2.3 billion USD in the 24 hours ending at 11:00 AM EST, a 40% increase from the previous day's volume of 1.64 billion USD (CoinGecko, 2025). ETH/USD also saw a volume increase to 1.2 billion USD, up 35% from 890 million USD on February 12, 2025 (CoinGecko, 2025). The rise in leveraged ETF assets reflects a broader trend of increased risk-taking in financial markets, which has a direct impact on cryptocurrency trading dynamics.
The implications of this market event for cryptocurrency trading are multifaceted. The increased appetite for risk, as evidenced by the growth in leveraged ETF assets, has led to a bullish sentiment in the crypto market. This sentiment is reflected in the price increases of major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH. Additionally, the rise in trading volumes indicates heightened activity among traders looking to capitalize on these movements. For instance, the BTC/USDT trading pair on Binance saw an average trading volume of 1.8 billion USD in the 24 hours ending at 11:00 AM EST on February 13, 2025, up from 1.3 billion USD the previous day (Binance, 2025). Similarly, the ETH/USDT pair on the same exchange recorded a trading volume of 950 million USD, a 30% increase from 730 million USD on February 12, 2025 (Binance, 2025). These volume spikes suggest that traders are actively engaging with the market in response to the increased risk appetite. Furthermore, the correlation between the rise in leveraged ETF assets and cryptocurrency price movements indicates a potential strategy for traders to monitor leveraged ETF trends as an indicator of future crypto market movements.
Technical indicators and volume data provide further insights into the market's response to the surge in leveraged ETF assets. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC/USD was recorded at 72 at 10:00 AM EST on February 13, 2025, indicating that the asset is approaching overbought territory (TradingView, 2025). Similarly, the RSI for ETH/USD stood at 68 at the same time, suggesting a similar trend (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for both BTC and ETH showed bullish signals, with the MACD line crossing above the signal line at 9:30 AM EST on February 13, 2025 (TradingView, 2025). On-chain metrics also provide valuable insights, with the number of active BTC addresses increasing by 15% to 1.1 million in the 24 hours ending at 11:00 AM EST on February 13, 2025, compared to 950,000 the previous day (Glassnode, 2025). Similarly, ETH active addresses rose by 12% to 800,000 from 715,000 on February 12, 2025 (Glassnode, 2025). These indicators and metrics suggest a robust market response to the increased risk appetite signaled by the rise in leveraged ETF assets.
In terms of AI-related news, there have been no specific developments reported on February 13, 2025, that directly impact AI-related tokens. However, the general market sentiment influenced by the rise in leveraged ETF assets can indirectly affect AI tokens. For instance, AI tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.ai (FET) experienced price increases of 2.2% and 1.9%, respectively, at 10:00 AM EST on February 13, 2025 (CoinMarketCap, 2025). These movements align with the overall bullish trend in the crypto market, suggesting a potential correlation between the risk appetite in traditional financial markets and the performance of AI-related tokens. Traders should monitor these correlations closely, as they could present trading opportunities in the AI/crypto crossover. Additionally, any future AI developments that signal increased adoption or investment could further influence market sentiment and trading volumes in AI-related tokens.
The implications of this market event for cryptocurrency trading are multifaceted. The increased appetite for risk, as evidenced by the growth in leveraged ETF assets, has led to a bullish sentiment in the crypto market. This sentiment is reflected in the price increases of major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH. Additionally, the rise in trading volumes indicates heightened activity among traders looking to capitalize on these movements. For instance, the BTC/USDT trading pair on Binance saw an average trading volume of 1.8 billion USD in the 24 hours ending at 11:00 AM EST on February 13, 2025, up from 1.3 billion USD the previous day (Binance, 2025). Similarly, the ETH/USDT pair on the same exchange recorded a trading volume of 950 million USD, a 30% increase from 730 million USD on February 12, 2025 (Binance, 2025). These volume spikes suggest that traders are actively engaging with the market in response to the increased risk appetite. Furthermore, the correlation between the rise in leveraged ETF assets and cryptocurrency price movements indicates a potential strategy for traders to monitor leveraged ETF trends as an indicator of future crypto market movements.
Technical indicators and volume data provide further insights into the market's response to the surge in leveraged ETF assets. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC/USD was recorded at 72 at 10:00 AM EST on February 13, 2025, indicating that the asset is approaching overbought territory (TradingView, 2025). Similarly, the RSI for ETH/USD stood at 68 at the same time, suggesting a similar trend (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for both BTC and ETH showed bullish signals, with the MACD line crossing above the signal line at 9:30 AM EST on February 13, 2025 (TradingView, 2025). On-chain metrics also provide valuable insights, with the number of active BTC addresses increasing by 15% to 1.1 million in the 24 hours ending at 11:00 AM EST on February 13, 2025, compared to 950,000 the previous day (Glassnode, 2025). Similarly, ETH active addresses rose by 12% to 800,000 from 715,000 on February 12, 2025 (Glassnode, 2025). These indicators and metrics suggest a robust market response to the increased risk appetite signaled by the rise in leveraged ETF assets.
In terms of AI-related news, there have been no specific developments reported on February 13, 2025, that directly impact AI-related tokens. However, the general market sentiment influenced by the rise in leveraged ETF assets can indirectly affect AI tokens. For instance, AI tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.ai (FET) experienced price increases of 2.2% and 1.9%, respectively, at 10:00 AM EST on February 13, 2025 (CoinMarketCap, 2025). These movements align with the overall bullish trend in the crypto market, suggesting a potential correlation between the risk appetite in traditional financial markets and the performance of AI-related tokens. Traders should monitor these correlations closely, as they could present trading opportunities in the AI/crypto crossover. Additionally, any future AI developments that signal increased adoption or investment could further influence market sentiment and trading volumes in AI-related tokens.
The Kobeissi Letter
@KobeissiLetterAn industry leading commentary on the global capital markets.