In my opinion, futures contracts have allowed a lot of whales to sell their bitcoin (while making money by being short in the futures market). In essence, they have exited BTC without losing money from causing falling prices.

If my thesis is correct, this explains the underperformance of BTC in recent weeks.

The expiry of Jan futures contracts could see some of this downward pressure released.

In the meantime, hodlers will have to ride out the storm.