Bitcoin Bears Grow as Liquidity Dries Up, $96K–$80K in Sight
Bitcoin is under bearish pressure as liquidity on major exchanges thins. Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows have plunged over 60% since April, while whale accumulation has fallen by 50%, pushing CryptoQuant’s Demand Momentum to all-time lows. On-chain metrics show that 38,000 BTC were sold into weak order books on Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, OKX and Kraken over three weeks. Persistent taker-side selling in perpetual futures echoes pre-$90K breakdown patterns. Analysts warn that failure to reclaim $108.5K could lead Bitcoin to test support at $96K–$98K and potentially dip into the $80K range.
Institutional signals offer mixed context. Glassnode reports steady large transfers and rising derivatives volumes that now exceed spot trading by up to 16×. Semler Scientific plans to grow its holdings to 105,000 BTC by 2027. Santiment notes a rise in wallets holding 10+ BTC alongside a drop of 37,000 small addresses—a historical precursor to rebounds. Traders should weigh weakening retail demand against enduring “smart money” accumulation when positioning for short-term volatility or long-term trends.
Bearish
The combined data—plunging ETF inflows, halved whale accumulation, thinning order books and taker-side selling—signifies growing selling pressure on Bitcoin. Technical signals warn of a retest of $96K–$98K and possible dips into the $80K range if support at $108.5K fails. While institutional metrics like large transfers and smart-money accumulation remain intact, they currently lack the momentum to offset deteriorating retail liquidity. Short-term outlook is bearish, though long-term institutional interest could temper sustained declines.