Bitcoin managed to stay firm around the $64,000 support level even as investors pulled out $465 million from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs over two days. This outflow snapped a seven-day streak of inflows, yet the price barely budged, gaining a modest 0.13%. The resilience surprised many, considering the scale of withdrawals.
ETF Outflows and Their Impact
Data from SoSoValue revealed that Bitcoin funds lost $225 million on Thursday and another $240 million on Friday. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was responsible for nearly $415 million of this two-day outflow, making it the primary contributor. Yet, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs still attracted $33.79 million during the week ending July 24, marking their third consecutive week of inflows. Over the past three weeks, these ETFs have managed to pull in $197 million, $75.67 million, and now $33.79 million respectively.
Market Sentiment and External Factors
July has been a month of stabilization following significant sell-offs in May and June, according to analysts from BRN. Ivan Lim, senior derivatives trader at FalconX, linked the sudden withdrawal to two main factors: a lack of progress on the CLARITY Act and rising expectations of U.S. interest rate hikes. The latter gained momentum as Treasury yields rose amid oil-driven inflation concerns, pushing traders to more than double the odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase at its upcoming meeting to roughly 33%.
Geopolitical tensions eased slightly as the U.S. and Iran agreed to extend a pause on retaliatory strikes, reducing fears about potential disruptions to energy supplies. Bitcoin took this in stride, recovering alongside other risk-sensitive assets.
Price Levels in Focus
Bitcoin’s rebound from a July low near $58,000 has brought the $64,000 to $65,000 zone back under the spotlight as critical support. Earlier in the week, Bitcoin briefly surged above $66,500 but then slipped below $64,000 amid profit-taking and weakness in tech stocks. The price action tested resistance between $66,000 and $67,000 but failed to break out decisively.
Previously, a $221.7 million inflow ended a 10-day streak of withdrawals totaling $2.73 billion, showing short-term improvement in ETF flows, yet this was not enough to offset the heavier losses from earlier weeks.
Looking ahead, Bitcoin faces two potential paths: pushing above $67,000 could open the door to testing the $68,000 to $70,000 range, but this would require higher trading volumes and steady inflows. Progress on regulatory matters like the CLARITY Act and easing Federal Reserve policies would also boost market confidence. Otherwise, Bitcoin might hover between $64,000 and $67,000 as traders await clearer signals on monetary policy. Maintaining a price above $65,000 remains key to sustaining the current rally.
