Crypto Markets See Uptick as Ether and Meme Coins Lead the Way
The digital asset market has experienced a surge in recent hours, with Ether reclaiming the $3,500 mark and meme coins like DOGE and SHIB seeing significant gains. Meanwhile, Bitcoin remains subdued, trading at around $65,400 with a mere 0.2% increase over the past 24 hours.
Crypto market graph showing recent uptick
According to data from CryptoQuant, whales have sold over $1.2 billion worth of Bitcoin in the past two weeks, indicating a lack of demand from large holders. This trend is likely to continue, with miners potentially shifting their focus to the booming AI sector instead of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin ETFs Experience Outflows
Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US have seen outflows of $152.4 million, further indicating a lack of institutional demand. However, broker Bernstein predicts that Bitcoin ETFs will experience a surge in inflows in the second half of the year, driven by approval from major wirehouses and large private bank platforms.
Bitcoin ETF graph showing recent outflows
Market Observers Weigh In
Market observers believe that crypto miners may be increasingly looking at the booming AI sector instead of Bitcoin to ply their trade, prompting a sale of their Bitcoin rewards instead of holding. Both sectors rely extensively on powerful computing chips to generate and maintain data.
Cumulative Open Interest in Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Declines
Cumulative open interest in Bitcoin perpetual futures trading on major exchanges has declined from $6.07 billion to $5.10 billion in two weeks, indicating that the recent Bitcoin price pullback is mainly driven by unwinding of bullish bets or profit-taking rather than renewed bearish bets.
Bitcoin perpetual futures graph showing decline in open interest
Institutional Adoption on the Horizon
Despite the current lack of demand, Bernstein predicts that Bitcoin and crypto-linked stocks are underrated and ripe for institutional adoption. The next leg of adoption will be driven by large advisers approving ETFs and allocation headroom from existing portfolios.
Conclusion
As the crypto market continues to experience ups and downs, one thing is clear: institutional adoption is on the horizon, and Bitcoin ETFs are poised to experience a surge in inflows in the second half of the year. Will this be the catalyst that drives Bitcoin to new heights? Only time will tell.
