As investors continue to digest yesterday’s higher-than-expected Consumer Price Index report and its implications for interest rates and future risk assets, trading activity on Thursday has calmed down, with a decrease in volatility in the cryptocurrency market.
Bitcoin has been trading around $70,000, according to the latest data from CoinTerminal. On Thursday, the trading range for Bitcoin was between $69,560 and $71,310, with neither bulls nor bears gaining the upper hand. At the time of writing, the trading price of Bitcoin is $70,197, with a 1% increase in the past 24 hours.
In the altcoin market, there have been mixed performances. Bittensor (TAO) led the gains with a 15.3% increase after being listed on Binance, followed by MANTRA (OM) with a 12.5% increase, and Neo (NEO) with a 10.3% increase. On the other hand, Nervos Network (CKB) saw a 13.7% decrease, Saga (SAGA) dropped by 13.6%, and Uniswap (UNI) continued to retreat with an 11.5% decrease after receiving a Wells notice from the SEC.
In the US stock market, led by the technology sector, there has been a rebound, pushing the Nasdaq index higher. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was nearly flat, the S&P 500 index increased by 0.74%, and the Nasdaq rose by 1.68%.
ETF flows have remained stable despite the sideways movement in Bitcoin prices over the past few weeks. These ETFs, which track the spot Bitcoin market, have seen stable inflows of funds, setting records for inflows and trading volumes in the first two months of trading.
Although some spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US have recorded net outflows in recent days, the overall trend is still an increase in total assets under management. According to data provided by Dune Analytics, these ETFs have seen net inflows of $12.5 billion since their launch, currently holding 839,000 Bitcoins worth approximately $58.9 billion.
As shown in the chart, the inflows of funds seem to be consolidating. According to some analysts, with the development of bullish developments, the inflows of funds may soon start to rise again. Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck, stated that retail investors dominate the inflows of funds into US spot Bitcoin ETFs, while there is also significant investment from traditional finance (TradFi) participants.
Jan van Eck said in an interview at the Paris Blockchain Week, “I am surprised by the initial success of ETFs, but it’s not yet the traditional investors. I still think 90% of the flows are retail, and there are some Bitcoin whales and other institutions allocating some of their portfolios, but they are the ones who already directly hold Bitcoin.”
Jan van Eck also mentioned that so far, there hasn’t been any bank in the US formally approving or allowing their financial advisors to recommend Bitcoin, although there may be some major institutional investments coming from banks and traditional companies next month. However, the Bitcoin ETF landscape is still in its early stages.
Van Eck also pointed out that the significant price increase in BTC in early April did not occur during US trading hours, indicating the increasing influence of the Asian market. For example, Hong Kong is about to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF product, which may further boost demand.
While BTC has seen a recent price rebound, market observers have noticed that funding rates remain at relatively low levels. Philip Swift, co-founder of statistical platform Look Into Bitcoin, summarized, “Since BTC climbed above $70,000, Bitcoin funding rates finally look healthy. Bitcoin needs this consolidation of volatility to clear out those trying to leverage long positions, which is an encouraging sign for the bulls.”
Daan Crypto Trades mentioned that traders are now feeling “hesitant” about going long on BTC, as it has faced several rejections in its journey towards all-time highs. Analysts believe that breaking and holding above $71,500 is crucial, and if successful, reaching new all-time highs should only be a matter of time.
Keith Allen, co-founder of Material Indicators, stated on the X platform that the upcoming halving of block rewards and the current price structure of Bitcoin are the more important focus for the future. He said, “The bullish case for Bitcoin is built around a series of higher lows. The core of the bearish case is that the bulls have failed to validate the R/S flip at the trendline, $69,000 remains a key level to watch.”
The BTC halving is expected to occur between April 19th and 20th. Currently, the overall cryptocurrency market cap is $2.62 trillion, with Bitcoin’s market cap accounting for 53%.
Author: BitpushNews Mary Liu