Bitcoin Price Is Pushed By Institutional Demand: 5 Signs

In recent times, the Bitcoin market is witnessing a seismic shift, with BTC’s price ascent deeply rooted in burgeoning institutional demand. Expert commentary and market data are coming together to unveil a comprehensive picture of this profound institutional activity.

Institutional Demand Is Driving The Bitcoin Price

A profound insight came from Miles Deutscher, a seasoned crypto analyst, who highlighted some compelling shifts in the market’s dynamics. Deutscher noted, “Something big has changed in the market over the past few days.” He emphasized the significance of the CME Futures volume, which, in a remarkable turn, has reached a two-year zenith.

The CME Group themselves affirmed this trajectory, remarking, “Amid recent market-moving events, open interest in CME Group Bitcoin futures reached an all-time high of over 20K contracts.” This amounts to a staggering 100K equivalent Bitcoin, or a resounding $3.4 billion in notional value, heralding a firm institutional footprint.

Alongside the futures, the CME Options volume has seen a renaissance, scaling up to a three-month peak. Third, Deutscher drew attention to the call options open interest, an equally critical metric, which touched a formidable threshold of $10 billion.

In a bid to contextualize this surge, he juxtaposed it against a past landmark, stating, “For context: At the peak of the 2021 bull run, it was $9.9B.” Such milestones, when taken together, underscore the sheer magnitude of the current institutional engagement.

Furthermore, Deutscher highlighted the uptrend in crypto-related stocks, observing a rise of approximately 15% over a mere week. This uptick suggests that the broader financial ecosystem is responding favorably to the upswing, a sentiment that might be anchored by institutional players.

Lastly, from Deutscher’s observations, the inflow into public funds displays another extraordinary pattern. A massive $43 million was funneled into Bitcoin in just a single day. To put this into a broader perspective, this influx is equivalent to 10% of the entire year’s inflows up to this point, a statistic that serves as a testament to institutional enthusiasm.

Diving deeper into the underpinnings of these market upheavals, analyst Zaheer offered another perspective, predicting that the CME’s dominant position as the largest exchange by open interest isn’t fleeting.

He reflected, “More traditional investors are carrying the gauntlet for crypto. Off-shore crypto exchanges are running out of favor in place of more regulated counter-parties. Crypto natives are likely sidelined.”

This shift in investor dynamics is further exemplified by Binance’s diminishing market share on the BTC futures market, now at a year-to-date low of 30%.

Stablecoin Inflows Are Back

Beyond Deutscher’s observations, another bullish indicator emerges from insights by the renowned analyst Pentoshi. Analyzing the broader market mood, he offered a perspective that can be construed as a sixth sign of Bitcoin’s institutional demand:

A few thoughts about the state of the market leading into the Bitcoin ETF: Everyone who wanted to sell, has done so. Stablecoins bottomed 3 months ago, and for the first time in 2 years, we are actually seeing INFLOWS. Early stage reversal signs.

JP Morgan’s Take On BTC’s Rally

Adding another layer to the institutional dialogue is the anticipatory atmosphere surrounding the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). JPMorgan encapsulated the sentiment stating, “It looks like this latest flow impulse had institutional participation.”

The report ventured further, shedding light on Bitcoin’s robust performance, emphasizing, “Our futures position proxy based on CME Bitcoin futures, which tends to be used mostly by institutional investors, has spiked over the past week.”

Furthermore, JPMorgan’s analysis disclosed an intriguing shift. Large BTC inflows into sizable wallets, indicative of institutional demand, were in stark contrast to previous patterns dominated by retail investors.

The report underscored this distinction, “There has been a large BTC inflow into larger wallets, which points to institutional investor demand,” differentiating it from prior impulses led primarily by smaller, retail-centric wallets.

At press time, BTC traded at $34,111.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com