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Mixed Macro Messages and Bitcoin’s Ongoing Battles
This week, all eyes are on the upcoming CPI and PPI data, crucial for gauging US inflation trends. A higher-than-expected reading would signal persistent inflation, likely leading the U.S. Federal Reserve to maintain its high interest rate regime. This outcome would naturally shift investor attention away from cryptoassets, as investors seek the relative safety of fixed-income assets, like U.S. Treasuries. That being said, U.S. inflation does appear to be on a downturn, with GDP decreasing to 1.4% in the first quarter of the year, a rapid deceleration from the end of last year. Growth slowing down is important for prices to be tamed. Last month’s PCE reading also came in at 2.6%, in line with expectations. Furthermore, the latest jobs report highlighted that the total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits rose for the ninth straight week, reaching 1.86M, the highest level since November 2021! Coupled with unemployment rising to 4.1%, this indicates a labor market slowdown, which could ease inflationary pressures further.
However, global liquidity is falling steeply as shown in Figure 1 below, evidenced by a 13% increase in U.S. repo volume in June. This indicates that financial institutions are turning to collateralized borrowing to secure short-term funds, signaling reduced cash availability and higher borrowing costs. Similarly, in Europe, the EU repo volume crossed over €300B, tightening liquidity conditions further. Less global liquidity means reduced cash flow into risk-on assets, potentially pressuring the crypto market despite dwindling inflationary pressures.
Figure 1 – EU and U.S. Central Bank Balance Sheet
Source: TradingView
Looking within crypto, Bitcoin is currently facing a combination of industry-native factors that are contributing to the recent price decline. The German government has been consistently selling close to 1,000 BTC or almost $58M per day, over the last week, from their seized stash originating from the pirating website Movie2K. This ongoing selling pressure could continue for approximately two to three more weeks until the rest of their holdings standing at 26K BTC are liquidated. Additionally, the Mt. Gox repayment program has commenced, with nearly 47,000 BTC transferred to unidentified wallets that have not made any further moves yet. This indicates that this amount, equating to $2.7B worth of BTC, will be the first stack reimbursed back to creditors.
It’s worth highlighting though that creditors will receive their allocation over multiple days through different exchanges, which should somewhat mitigate the selling pressure. Tax considerations are also another reason why the selling is unlikely to materialize in a short timeframe given the price appreciation that BTC has undergone in the last decade since the exchange’s hack.
That said, Bitcoin’s liquidity appears sufficient to withstand potential selling pressure without significant market impact. Even on the slowest days, the average inflow to exchanges has been around an average of 20K BTC, as shown below in Figure 2. Additionally, it takes approximately 500 BTC on the most liquid exchange, Bitfinex, to cause a 2% drop in BTC price, and an average of 250 BTC on the next three most liquid platforms to produce a similar price movement. Therefore, a 10-15% drawdown seems plausible for the worst-case scenario of creditors selling all their holdings immediately, which we don’t believe will be the case. In addition, individual investors with large amounts could also sell over the counter (OTC) to get a better rate and avoid price slippage, which could further reduce the market impact of their BTC offloading.
Figure 2: Total transfer volume of BTC to exchanges
Source: Glassnode
Another factor to consider is miners’ selling pressure. After disposing of nearly 30K BTC in June, miners have finally reduced their selling activity in the past two weeks. This marks their current reserves at around 1.9M BTC, seen below in Figure 3, the lowest point in the last 10 years. Finally, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty is set to decrease by 5%, marking the second largest drop since the FTX collapse. This reduction will benefit miners by enabling them to produce more Bitcoin with less effort, likely improving their profitability.
Figure 3: Bitcoin Miners Balance
Source: Glassnode
On another positive note, on-chain data shows that Long-term holders (LTHs) have stopped reducing their BTC supply since late June. This is a positive development, as LTHs maintaining a stable supply is crucial for Bitcoin to sustain its upward momentum. Similarly, Bitcoin’s MVRV ratio, which compares its current market price to its ”realized price” (the average price at which each coin was last moved), suggests that Bitcoin is currently trading at levels similar to June 2021 when it was around $30K. Notably, Bitcoin rebounded from the $30K price level to reach its all-time high later in 2021. This could be an encouraging sign of Bitcoin’s growth potential in terms of relative valuation during the current market cycle.
Figure 4: Bitcoin’s Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV)
Source: Glassnode
Altogether, there are potential catalysts that could turn the tide in the coming months. For instance, a resurgence in ETF inflows could offset the selling pressure precipitated by the influx of BTC entering the market. Notably, there were days in Q1 when the regulated vehicle absorbed more than 10K BTC, as depicted below in Figure 5. Further, the arrival of new market participants, such as registered investment advisors (RIAs) representing the wealthiest investors, could significantly alter the market’s supply and demand dynamics. In addition, the approval of Ethereum ETFs expected anytime within the next two weeks could also reignite interest in the market. Even if inflows are anticipated to be at best 25% of the $10B invested in Bitcoin’s ETFs in the first few months of the year. It’ll nevertheless catalyze broader interest in the market and can be expected to benefit tokens of the Ethereum ecosystem. Finally, election season is another catalyst for crypto. Particularly in the U.S., Bitcoin has become a polarizing campaigning tool for the Republicans as Trump led the way in advocating for the largest crypto asset by market cap. In fact, the Republican party has officially included the advocacy for BTC as part of their 2024 election campaign, which shows the growing influence of crypto within US politics.
Figure 5: US Spot ETF Inflows Denominated in BTC
Source: Glassnode
This Week’s Calendar
Source: Forex Factory, 21Shares
Research Newsletter
Each week the 21Shares Research team will publish our data-driven insights into the crypto asset world through this newsletter. Please direct any comments, questions, and words of feedback to research@21shares.com
Disclaimer
The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or other offering material and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. Some of the information published herein may contain forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax or other advice and users are cautioned to base investment decisions or other decisions solely on the content hereof.
- Michael Saylor’s bold Bitcoin bet and Strategy’s risk analysis
- Bitcoin price technical analysis: Where are the liquidation levels?
- What are real-world assets and why do we need tokenization?
Michael Saylor’s bold Bitcoin bet and Strategy’s risk analysis
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has amassed a staggering $43 billion in Bitcoin, positioning itself at the forefront of the corporate “reserve race.” Under the leadership of Bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor, the company now boasts an $84 billion market cap. But with such an aggressive strategy, how sustainable is its approach—and what risks lie ahead? We break it down in today’s analysis.
Bitcoin price technical analysis: Where are the liquidation levels?
A drop below $72,000 could flush longs, while a breakout above $90,000 may squeeze shorts. One key positive indicator is that Bitcoin continues to print higher lows since March 10, which preserves a bullish market structure in our view. Dive into our technical analysis.
What are real-world assets and why do we need tokenization?
Imagine owning a slice of a skyscraper or a piece of fine art with just a few clicks. Tokenization, the act of converting ownership rights to real-world assets (RWAs) into tradable tokens, has surpassed $10 billion in on-chain value, unlocking global 24/7 access to once-exclusive markets with liquidity, efficiency, and yield. Find out how it works.
Research Newsletter
Each week the 21Shares Research team will publish our data-driven insights into the crypto asset world through this newsletter. Please direct any comments, questions, and words of feedback to research@21shares.com
Disclaimer
The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or other offering material and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. Some of the information published herein may contain forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax or other advice and users are cautioned to base investment decisions or other decisions solely on the content hereof.
Since President Trump appointed Mark Uyeda as acting SEC chair two months ago, many investigations into crypto businesses have been dropped, as the SEC moves away from regulation by enforcement and works to create a framework for digital assets. As regulations become clearer and news flow turns more positive, crypto prices—which dropped sharply this week—should begin to better reflect the new regulatory landscape in the US.
We believe this regulatory shift could ultimately help trigger the next leg of the current bull run, as investors better understand the significance of regulatory clarity and seek to acquire bitcoin and altcoins at what we believe are currently very favorable levels.
Market Highlights
SEC Dismisses Crypto Enforcement Actions
The SEC dropped its enforcement actions against crypto-related companies Kraken, Consensys, and Cumberland DRW.
This indicates a shift in SEC’s regulatory approach, favoring clearer guidelines over enforcement actions. Such a pivot could foster a more predictable environment, encouraging innovation within the sector.
Banks to Engage in Crypto Activities
The FDIC has rescinded previous guidelines which prevented financial institutions from engaging with crypto activities without prior sign-off.
By removing bureaucratic hurdles, banks may more readily offer crypto-related services, potentially leading to broader adoption and integration of digital assets.
Bitcoin ETFs Inflow Streak Surpassed $1 Billion
US spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded a 10-day inflow streak exceeding $1 billion marking the longest such streak in 2025.
This underscores growing institutional and retail investor confidence in Bitcoin as an asset class that helps increase market stability and possibly paving the way for the approval of other crypto-based financial products.
Market Metrics
All NCITM constituents had negative performance last week, with XRP (-10.8%) and UNI (-10.7%) seeing the steepest declines. ETH also experienced a sharp drop (-9.1%), contributing to NCITM’s underperformance relative to BTC (-2.9%). The NCITM -4.2% decline reflects a broader risk-off sentiment in the crypto market, as investors reassess their positions amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties.
NCITM (-4.2%) extended its underperformance last week, deepening year-to-date losses. Traditional indices like the S&P 500 (-1.5%) and Nasdaq 100 (-2.4%) saw smaller declines. The gap between crypto and other risk assets continues to widen, while gold has emerged as the top performer in 2025, gaining nearly 20% amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties. This trend highlights a growing risk-off sentiment, with investors shifting toward defensive assets and away from high-volatility investments.
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