Bitcoin's $80,000 Test Hits Snags as ETF Flows Reverse
Bitcoin is once again approaching the $80,000 mark, but this time it's facing challenges that didn't exist during previous rallies. The cryptocurrency traded near $77,000 on Monday, leaving it about 3% below the psychological threshold of $80,000. However, investors who purchased Bitcoin at higher prices may treat any rebound into the $81,000 to $86,000 range as a chance to exit at breakeven or better, creating a wall of selling pressure that could hinder a sustainable move toward $90,000.
The reversal in institutional flows has also changed the character of the market. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracted nearly $1 billion in weekly inflows earlier this month, but have since posted daily outflows of around $283 million on September 10. This shift from tailwind to headwind matters because it changes the dynamics of the market.
The Coinbase Premium Index, which measures the price gap between Bitcoin on Coinbase and other major exchanges, has slipped back into negative territory at around -0.02. This metric is widely used as a proxy for US spot buying pressure, suggesting that American investors are not aggressively accumulating even as the price hovers above its late-August breakout levels.