Bitcoin Critic Calls ‘Institutional Demand’ A Myth Following Recent Price Slump

Popular Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff dismisses claims of growing institutional interest in the maiden cryptocurrency. Schiff’s challenging statement comes following the recent Bitcoin market sell-off which resulted in a 10% price decline on Friday.

According to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, the German and US governments, and defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox have moved a combined 17,788 Bitcoin valued at $1.08 billion to exchanges since June 19. 

In particular, the German government has sold parts of its BTC holdings every day since the start of July transferring out a substantial 3,000 BTC, worth around $175 million, on Thursday. The constant sell-off by the German and US authorities coupled with Mt. Gox repayments to creditors which are expected to be sold, soon resulted in massive selling pressure on BTC, forcing the token’s price down from $60,097 on Thursday to as low as $53,971 on Friday.

Commenting on this event, Schiff stated in an X post on Saturday, that Bitcoin’s price slump demonstrated that the institutional demand for the market leader was overestimated. While the Bitcoin critic acknowledged that market sell-off contributed to the asset’s decline, he also emphasized the absence of a high institutional demand, which if existed, should jump at the chance to buy the massive amount of Bitcoin that has been sold.

Schiff’s comments are likely targeted at popular sentiments that Bitcoin’s institutional demand has been on the rise following the introduction of the Spot Bitcoin ETFs in January.  Notably, the market leader embarked on an upward trend in the first quarter of 2024 rising to a new all-time high of $73,750, a development which coincided with the rapid growth of the Spot Bitcoin ETF market which hit a $10 billion trading volume in March.

In other news, popular crypto analyst Rekt Capital has postulated that Bitcoin may be preparing for a market recovery following the recent price dip. In an X post on Saturday, Rekt Capital noted that Bitcoin closed its daily trading above $56,750 allowing the token to continue to remain within the range low area of $60,600.

According to the analyst, if BTC continues to cluster around the price region, it could soon launch a price rebound reaching as high as $71,000. At the time of writing, the premier cryptocurrency continues to trade at $58,189 with a 2.45% increase in the last day. However, BTC’s daily trading volume remains down by 63.35% and is valued at $20.61 billion.