In July, both Bitcoin and the miners took a break from their bullish ride. At the start of the month, miners were all about holding their BTC rewards, waiting for prices to shoot up. But as Bitcoin hit its peak on July 14, the dream fizzled, and miners began cashing out. Now, the question is: can Bitcoin keep climbing, or is August in for a rough ride?
CryptoQuant’s data reveals that miners started off July holding onto their BTC, with the Miner Reserve increasing by 0.05%. This reflected growing optimism and a “HODL” mentality, as miners hoarded coins in anticipation of higher prices. By July 22, the reserve peaked at 1.808 million BTC. It looked like the bulls were in charge, right? Wrong.
After Bitcoin’s rally hit a wall post-July 14, miner sentiment turned sour, and the reserve started to dip. This signals that miners are offloading their stash, likely to lock in profits while the market still has a pulse. Given that miners control a sizable chunk of Bitcoin’s fresh supply, their actions are pretty impactful. A dip in reserves could turn into more sell pressure, making Bitcoin vulnerable to a potential price correction this month.
Institutional Inflows Might Save the Day
Institutions could swoop in to keep Bitcoin’s price from crashing. Zignaly’s Co-Founder, Abdul Rafay Gadit, believes that while miners might be playing it safe, it’s institutional demand that’s keeping Bitcoin afloat. With Bitcoin-backed ETFs from heavyweights like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Ark pulling in capital, institutional investors are becoming the real movers in the market.
“Miners are no longer driving the price—institutions are”
Gadit says, and he’s got a point. Institutional capital is acting like a safety net, stabilizing Bitcoin’s price despite the miner sell-off. For instance, Bitcoin ETFs have pulled in a solid $284 million in net inflows just this week, even as Bitcoin’s price mostly hovers around the $118K mark. If that trend continues, it could keep Bitcoin’s price from falling too far, despite miners’ moves.
Can Bitcoin Break Free of Its Sideways Trend?
As of now, Bitcoin is in a bit of a limbo, trading at $118,561. It’s stuck between support at $116,952 and resistance at $120,811. If institutional demand picks up, we could see Bitcoin push past the resistance level, maybe even challenging its all-time high in August. But if bears make a move, Bitcoin could slip under $116,925 and fall toward $114,354.
One thing’s for sure, Bitcoin’s journey in August is going to be an interesting one. Will miners’ selling spree be the start of a bigger dip, or will institutional inflows keep the bulls alive? Only time will tell.
Roman Zaika
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