Cryptocurrency Market Stagnation: Bitcoin Remains Steady Amid ETF Decline

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has fluctuated between $86,000 and $88,000, with the recent US jobs data release failing to significantly impact price volatility. The current price is positioned near a crucial technical level, which, if breached, could lead to further market downturn. On Bitfinex, the number of long positions (bullish bets) on the BTC/USD pair has reached 72,184, the highest since February 2024. Historically, rising long positions have often been a contrarian indicator, coinciding with prolonged market declines. The decline in US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs has continued, with a loss of $227 million on Tuesday, following Monday's outflow of $357.69 million. Over two days, these ETFs have lost over $584 million, more than double the net inflow of $286.60 million recorded last week, according to SoSoValue. This significant outflow suggests a weakening of institutional demand for BTC, leaving the market in a precarious state. The lack of a positive response to the recent spike in the US jobless rate, which reached its highest level since April 2021 and supports Fed rate-cut bets, also indicates market exhaustion. "The lack of reaction in the crypto market is telling. It appears that markets are more focused on internal liquidity and positioning than macroeconomic releases," said Timothy Misir, head of research at BRN. "Until macro data leads to significant changes in rate expectations or liquidity conditions, price action is likely to remain range-bound and reactive rather than directional." Options market data suggest that investors expect a broad range trade between $85,000 and $100,000 in the near term. In the broader cryptocurrency market, some tokens, such as the Cardano-based NIGHT token, have seen gains, with a 9% increase in 24 hours. SKY and XMR have also added 4% each, while the rest of the top 100 tokens are experiencing losses. Both the CoinDesk 20 and CoinDesk 80 indices have declined over the period. Shares in crypto exchange HashKey fell 5% early Wednesday following their debut in Hong Kong. In traditional markets, the dollar index has recovered from 2.5-month lows to above 98.00, with the 10-year Treasury yield holding steady above 4.10%. The Chinese yuan remains strong at two-month highs, providing policymakers with room to stimulate the slowing economy. Read more: For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today. What to Watch For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead". Token Events For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead". Conferences For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead". Market Movements Bitcoin Stats Technical Analysis Crypto Equities Crypto Treasury Companies ETF Flows Spot BTC ETFs Spot ETH ETFs Source: Farside Investors While You Were Sleeping