Bitcoin critic and economist Peter Schiff has seized on BTC's return to the $90,000 level as a fresh opportunity to urge investors to sell and de-risk. In public comments, Schiff framed the recent rally as a chance for holders to reduce their Bitcoin exposure, reiterating his long-standing bearish stance without recommending new purchases at current prices.
This warning comes amidst a backdrop of rising leverage in the crypto futures market. Data shows traders added approximately $2.4 billion in leverage across Bitcoin and Ethereum markets in December, pushing combined futures open interest from $35 billion to $38 billion. Bitcoin-specific open interest grew from $22 billion to $23 billion. Major exchanges like Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Gate.io reported steady or higher open interest, with Gate.io showing the strongest growth. Funding rates remained positive, indicating traders are paying to hold long positions, which signals confidence but also heightens liquidation risk if prices fail to advance.
Simultaneously, on-chain activity revealed significant whale movements. Two newly created wallets withdrew a total of 1,600 BTC (worth roughly $143.65 million at the time) from Binance within a three-hour window. Some market participants view such large withdrawals from exchanges as a potentially bullish signal, as it reduces readily available supply. However, analysts caution against overinterpreting isolated moves, emphasizing that broader exchange outflow trends and long-term holding data are more reliable indicators.
The market context is one of subdued overall activity, with trading volume reportedly down about 40% for much of December even as Bitcoin price held steady, suggesting the rally lacked strong, broad-based participation. The market now appears divided between Schiff's risk-off warning, the building leverage among traders, and the ambiguous signal from selective whale withdrawals, leaving the near-term direction for Bitcoin unclear as the year concludes.
