Bitcoin's Market Is a Numbers Game, and the Latest Figures Tell a Gripping Tale

Bitcoin's market is a numbers game, and the latest figures tell a gripping tale.

Bitcoin price slid 1.69% in 24 hours to $23,980.54 by 02:37 ET (06:37 GMT) on February 26, bringing its recent pullback from 2024 highs closer to 10%.

The latest moves in the world’s largest cryptocurrency were closely followed by crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant. Its CEO, Ki Young Ju, highlighted a shift in trading activity.

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) Contributes to Record Bitcoin ETF Outflows

The latest figures from SoSoValue showed that spot Bitcoin ETFs saw their largest single-day outflow on February 25, with a record-breaking $937.78 million pulled from the products. This shatters the previous record of $680 million, which was observed on December 19, 2024.

This record outflow can be partly attributed to the actions of large institutional investors, known as whales, who were offloading their Coinbase holdings, as noted by Ju in a recent X post.

Further analysis from 10x Research, shared in a February 23 report, revealed that only 44% of the recent U.S. Bitcoin ETF inflows are likely going towards long-term holding strategies by institutional investors. A significant portion of the activity is attributed by the firm to traders engaged in arbitrage opportunities.

However, 10x Research suggests that the true level of institutional demand for Bitcoin within multi-asset investment portfolios might be smaller than what the recent influx of capital into the ETF market indicates.

But as institutional investors pulled out of Bitcoin ETFs, SoSoValue's data showed that the products saw their biggest single-day outflows since launch on February 25

Those outflows, which were an astounding $937.78 million, easily eclipse the previous record of $680 million reached on December 19, 2024.

Coinbase’s 30% Spot Volume Dominance Shows US Institutions Are in Control

Another interesting tidbit from Ju is that Coinbase now has over 30% of total Bitcoin spot volume in the past week, while the BTC premium (Coinbase BTC price vs. Binance BTC price) is still negative.

This signals that U.S. investors, especially institutions, are largely driving the recent bull cycle and also the correction, according to CryptoQuant.

Earlier, Ju had pointed out that typically in the past cycles, we’ve seen Bitcoin drop 30% from the all-time high before flipping bearish.

But Ju said that even after the recent correction, Bitcoin’s cycle is still intact.

According to CryptoQuant’s data, the Coinbase whales’ moves and the ETF outflows are part of a broader trend. He highlighted Bitcoin’s resilience throughout history, suggesting that it has encountered steeper drops in price before.

As such, Ju believes that the recent price action is part of a larger cycle, and the bear market is far from starting yet.