Bitcoin ETF

Bitcoin

Rekt

Institutional investors have halted their accumulation of stablecoins over the past two days, causing Bitcoin’s price to drop below a key psychological level.
During the past 24 hours, the Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) price fell 3.9% to trade at $58,930 as of 08:03 am UTC on Aug. 12, falling from a weekly high of $62,510.
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 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-08/d7b2cfd2-8dfc-4eba-b743-15e1764a95c9.png" alt="Bitcoin price drops below $59K as institutions stop buying stablecoins" title="">
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 BTC/USD, 1-month chart. Source: Cointelegraph
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The drop below the $60,000 mark was likely caused by institutions stopping their stablecoin buying frenzy, <a href="https://x.com/lookonchain/status/1822899987287552267" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to an Aug. 12 X post from onchain analytics platform Lookonchain:
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “Institutions seem to have temporarily stopped buying, and the price of $BTC dropped 4.5% today! We noticed that institutions stopped receiving $USDT from #TetherTreasury and transferring it to exchanges 2 days ago.”
</blockquote>
The lack of institutional stablecoin inflows to crypto exchanges can signal a lack of buying pressure and investor appetite for the underlying asset, as stablecoins are the main on-ramp from the fiat to the crypto world used by investors.
<h2 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="tether-s-previously-minted-1-3-billion-marked-the-local-bottom">Tether’s previously minted $1.3 billion marked the local bottom</h2>
Tether issues the world’s largest stablecoin, Tether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index">USDT</a>), and has <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-usdt-mint-bitcoin-65k">minted over $1.3 billion</a> worth of stablecoins from the market bottom on Aug. 5 to Aug. 9.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-bitcoin-reserve-centralization-risk-hoskinson">Bitcoin as a US reserve asset is ‘great for price’ but poses significant risks — Charles Hoskinson</a>
The $1.3 billion was transferred to some of the most popular centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, including Kraken, Coinbase, OKX and Bullish.
The Bitcoin price <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/3Z94myyP/?symbol=BITSTAMP%3ABTCUSD" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">bottomed</a> at a five-month low of above $49,500 on Aug. 5 and staged an over 21% recovery to above $60,000 by Aug. 9.
The Bitcoin price could stage a recovery above the $60,000 psychological resistance once large institutional stablecoin inflows resume.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/lamborghini-animoca-brands-web3-engagement">Wen Lambo? Lamborghini answers with new Animoca Web3 partnership</a>
<h3 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="bitcoin-needs-to-reclaim-60-000-for-more-upward-momentum-analyst">Bitcoin needs to reclaim $60,000 for more upward momentum — Analyst</h3>
In terms of technical analysis, the Bitcoin price needs to reclaim $60,600 for the next leg up, according to popular analyst Rekt Capital, who <a href="https://x.com/rektcapital/status/1822344995614978204/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">wrote</a> in an Aug. 10 X post:
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “Bitcoin is doing all the right things to confirm $60,600 as support so as to position price for a revisit of $65,000+ over time.”
</blockquote>
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-08/eaab3fa3-274f-4c98-ab05-898d8d3cb60d.jpeg" alt="Bitcoin price drops below $59K as institutions stop buying stablecoins" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 BTC/USD, 1-day chart. Source: Rekt Capital
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However, inflows to the United States-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) remain low. The US Bitcoin ETFs saw over $89 million worth of net negative outflows on Aug. 9, <a href="https://farside.co.uk/btc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to Farside Investors data.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-08/1bf3a195-4887-43e4-8024-6a0a04ebf099.png" alt="Bitcoin price drops below $59K as institutions stop buying stablecoins" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Spot Bitcoin ETF flows (US dollars, millions). Source: Farside Investors
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</figure>
<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-are-etf-fund-flows-and-why-do-they-matter">ETF inflows</a> can significantly contribute to a cryptocurrency’s price appreciation. For Bitcoin, ETFs accounted for about <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-etfs-about-75-new-investment">75% of new investment</a> in the cryptocurrency by Feb. 15 as it surpassed the $50,000 mark.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/china-crypto-ban-investors/">How Chinese traders and miners get around China’s crypto</a>

Bitcoin price drops below $59K as institutions stop buying stablecoins

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Cointelegraph

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