Spectrum Markets (“Spectrum”), the pan-European trading venue for securitised derivatives, published its SERIX sentiment data for European retail investors in June, which showed an increase in sentiment towards Bitcoin and Ether since the start of the year.
The SERIX sentiment index for Bitcoin reached 110 points in June, the highest since the start of the year, while the sentiment towards Ether was also up, reaching 113 in June.
The prices of both cryptocurrencies have risen since January, with Bitcoin up from 16,000 US Dollar to over 30,000 US Dollar and Ether from 1,200 US Dollar to 1,900 US Dollar.
Retail investors have been taking advantage of the 24/5 access to securitised derivatives via Spectrum on these two cryptocurrencies to hedge exposure and manage risk. Additionally, the introduction of a clearer regulatory regime with the European Council adopting new rules on markets in crypto-assets, in particular MiCAR, is providing further reassurance to investors in this asset class.
In June, 102.5 million securitised derivatives were traded on Spectrum, with 34.1% of trades taking place outside of traditional hours. Of these trades, 84.1% were on indices, 10.5% on currency pairs, 3.4% on commodities, 1.7% on equities and 0.3% on cryptocurrencies, with the top three traded underlying markets being DAX 40, NASDAQ 100 and S&P 500.
Looking at the SERIX data for the top three underlying markets, the DAX 40 and the NASDAQ 100 both remained bearish at 97, and the S&P 500 fell from an already bearish 98 to a low sentiment of 88.
The SERIX value indicates retail investor sentiment, with a number above 100 marking bullish sentiment, and a number below 100 indicating bearish sentiment. It is calculated on a monthly basis by analysing retail investor trades placed and subtracting the proportion of bearish trades from the proportion of bullish trades, to give a single figure (rebased at 100). Trades where long instruments are bought and trades where short instruments are sold are both considered bullish trades, while trades where long instruments are sold and trades where short instruments are bought are considered bearish trades. Trades that are matched by retail clients are disregarded.
