FTX Token hits new record up 50% so far in September — What’s driving FTT price higher?

FTX crypto exchange’s native utility token, FTT, reached a new record high on Monday a week after it agreed to acquire LedgerX, a United States-based crypto derivative platform, for an undisclosed sum.

On Monday, the FTT/USD exchange rate surged 16.37% to $73.99 in a market-wide rally that saw other top coins post similar but dwarfed price rallies. Additionally, the pair’s intraday climb coincided with gains among top exchange tokens, with Binance Coin (BNB) rising 2.3% and Uniswap’s UNI recording 3.5% profits on a 24-hour adjusted timeframe. 

LedgerX acquisition

The news of FTX’s Ledger acquisition served as the primary bullish backdrop behind FTT’s rally.

On Aug. 31, the crypto exchange revealed that it wants to offer a wide array of crypto-based asset classes in the U.S. via its regional wing, FTX.US. As a result, its acquisition of LedgerX, a U.S.-regulated crypto derivatives exchange and clearinghouse for retail and institutional investors, would mean broader market exposure for FTX services.

FTT jumped 34.42% in response to the LedgerX news on Wednesday. Later, the cryptocurrency entered a consolidation phase, only to resume its uptrend on Monday, rising up to 16.37%. In total, its month-to-date gains came out to be a little over 50%.

FTX Bitcoin OI already near previous record high

In detail, FTT provides its holders an opportunity to earn trading fee discounts and over-the-counter rebates on the FTX exchange. Token holders can also use FTT as collateral for futures positions. Meanwhile, institutions that want to buy a white-label version of FTX’s OTC portal and futures exchange can do so by using FTT.

Therefore, FTX’s network growth tends to directly correlate with FTT’s price performance. The relationship was visible in the recent rally, as the Bitcoin Futures Open Interest on the FTX exchange recovered to $2.96 billion on Monday. At its highest, the OI was $3.02 billion on April 13, 2021.

Additionally, FTX’s Bitcoin OI recovered toward its all-time highs faster than any other crypto derivatives exchange. For instance, Binance’s Bitcoin OI reached $4.83 billion, with its best level at $5.27 billion, per data provided by Bybt.

Technical outlook

FTT’s latest bull run has pushed it into a price discovery mode.

The FTT/USD rate underwent a 6% correction after topping out at $73.99 on Monday, signaling profit-taking among daytraders.

Related: Expanding ecosystem and LedgerX acquisition send FTX Token (FTT) to a new ATH

Now, the pair looks at maintaining support near $61.03 to retest its current all-time high for a bullish breakout. Should that happen, the next resistance target will appear at roughly $85, as per the Fibonacci retracement setup in the chart above.

Meanwhile, a continued sell-off would risk pushing FTT/USD to around $52.48, a level also near the 20-day exponential moving average (20-day EMA; the green wave).

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