Spot demand for bitcoin has turned mostly negative or flat since June, even after the coin bounced more than 13% off its early July low near $57,750. On July 23, 2026, BTC traded around $65,568, down 0.61% on the day, after closing near $66,101 the session before. The 24-hour range stayed tight, between roughly $65,300 and $66,360.
Cryptoquant founder Ki Young Ju flagged the disconnect on Thursday. Futures demand is net positive, he wrote, but sits well below the peaks seen during the March-to-May rebound, when 30-day cumulative futures positioning hit nearly 250,000 BTC. Right now that number looks far smaller. Spot buyers, the kind whose purchases tend to anchor lasting moves, simply haven't shown up in size.
Trading volumes backed that reading. Spot volume across major platforms came in between $21 billion and $24 billion over the past 24 hours, down from around $28.1 billion on July 22. Derivatives turnover ran near $147 billion, with open interest holding close to $111 billion. Bitcoin's market cap sat in the $1.31 to $1.32 trillion range on a circulating supply of roughly 20.06 million coins.
Macro pressure added to the caution. Reports of attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea, linked to Iran-backed groups, pushed West Texas Intermediate crude up nearly 5% toward $91 a barrel, its highest in weeks. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped around 0.75%, partly after Alphabet raised its AI spending outlook despite beating revenue targets, a move that sent the stock lower after hours. Blackrock's IBIT still managed to lead ETF inflows through the week, even as price stalled.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or an investment recommendation.
