Bitcoin Bulls Prepare for July Rally: Options Expiry and Historic Gains on the Horizon

• Bitcoin sustains above the $30,000 mark despite minor fluctuations; Ethereum experiences a slight downturn.
• Investors and technologists are increasingly drawn towards AI, despite its unproven potential, causing a dip in venture capital funding for blockchain and crypto.

As dawn breaks over Asian trading landscapes, Bitcoin continues its tentative dance around the $30K threshold. Ethereum, its close companion in the world of cryptocurrency, however, has seen a minor depreciation in its trade value.

In the quest for innovation, investors and tech enthusiasts have found a new muse in Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, one must question whether this sudden fascination is premature or rightly timed.

As per Deribit’s Chief Risk Officer, Shaun Fernando, Bitcoin’s current ‘max pain’ point, a state wherein option holders undergo significant financial loss, is set at $26K. This might ease some of the pricing pressure post the imminent options expiry.

Noteworthy is the substantial open interest exceeding $350 million at the 30k strike. This forebodes a potential climax with the nearing quarterly expiration, hinting at possible price turbulence amidst various gamma hedging strategies. Concurrently, Ethereum sees considerable institutional selling activity, though its implied volatility remains less than Bitcoin.

On another front, critics have claimed that the digital assets industry is perennially chasing the next trend without thoughtful consideration for its sustainability. A testament to this claim is 8btc, one of China’s premier crypto publications, switching its primary focus from blockchain to AI and the metaverse. A new trend among venture capitalists has been spotted, showing an increased interest in AI startups, resulting in an 80% plunge in venture capital funding for crypto in Q1 2023.

However, despite the hype surrounding AI technology, its actual potential remains between the peak of inflated expectations and the trough of disillusionment on the hype cycle. Past instances of similar hype cycles in enterprise blockchain should serve as cautionary tales.

In more recent news, stakeholders eagerly await this Friday for the quarterly options expiry. Meanwhile, venture capitalists are flocking to AI startups. As the crypto world and the tech world collectively hold their breath, all eyes are on the future, the upcoming trends, and the untapped potential of AI technology.