Investor Indifference Follows Bitcoin’s Break Above $20,000

Bitcoin has been seeing a lackluster performance in the last couple of weeks, and crypto investors have responded in kind to this. After a couple of weeks of tethering above $20,000, the digital asset’s price had finally fallen below this important technical point, triggering outflows in the market. For the past week, institutional investors have continued to feel the fatigue in the market, so while there were outflows, they still remain quite muted.

Bitcoin outflows have continued into another week. This has now brought outflows for the digital asset into three consecutive weeks with no signs of a reversal. The total came out to $29 million in outflows for the week. It marked another week where bitcoin had sent the majority of outflows, although others had recorded outflows.

The inflows were more localized to short bitcoin, which once more speaks to the bearish sentiment that is brewing among bitcoin investors. Despite not being large by previous margins, the $1 million into short BTC shows that institutional investors continue to exercise caution when investing in the market. 

It is understandable, given the stance that the Fed has taken when it comes to the economy. In a bid to get inflation rates under control, the Fed has taken what is known as a “hawkish” stance, causing investors to cling tightly to capital.

Outflows were not only recorded in bitcoin alone, although it was the focus for the week. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum also saw outflows totaling $1 million for the same time period. Investors had been very bearish on the digital asset until the announcement of the Merge changed sentiment. However, it is obvious that the bullish sentiment did not last very long. 

Digital asset investment products, just like bitcoin, have now marked their third consecutive week of outflows. It saw outflows reaching $27 million for the week. The majority of the outflows had come from three countries, including the US, Sweden, and Germany, with a combined total of $26.5 million.

Interestingly, minor outflows had flowed into other DeFi platforms such as Solana, Cardano, Uniswap, Tezos, and Chainlink. Most of the inflows had come from Brazil, with a total of $1.2 million.

The market, in general, is still struggling despite bitcoin recovering above $20,000 once more. There is very weak momentum which makes this a seller’s market. 

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