U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted over $140 million in net outflows, the largest daily outflow of August so far. The retreat comes as Bitcoin's Coinbase Premium Index dropped over 160% this week, and a technical pattern from earlier in the year raises the risk of a similar pullback.
Bitcoin ETF flows have turned bearish, and this suggests institutional demand could be losing steam at a moment when Bitcoin needs it most to hold current levels.
Bitcoin ETF flows turn bearish
Despite earlier momentum, Bitcoin ETFs have now seen over $140 million in net outflow, marking the largest daily outflow of the month. According to CryptoQuant data, Bitcoin's Coinbase Premium Index has dropped over 160% this week alone, its sharpest decline in August so far. That signals fading U.S. buying pressure, which could make it harder for Bitcoin to sustain its upside momentum.
Bitcoin is still up over 10% this quarter, with its highest wick reaching $66,000, a move that had set the stage for a potential push toward the $70,000-$75,000 range by quarter's end. However, nearly 90% of those gains came in July, and August momentum has been much weaker so far.
Rising open interest masks weak spot demand
One analyst pointed out that while Bitcoin's open interest continues to rise, spot demand remains weak, suggesting the current price action is being driven more by leverage than spot buying, similar to what was seen during the March cycle. If spot demand fails to pick up, a liquidity unwind could put Bitcoin at risk of another late-Q2 style correction.
A technical pattern echoes the Q2 breakdown
Bitcoin closed March and April up over 1.84% and 11.8%, respectively, but as momentum weakened, it closed May and June down over 3% and 20%, respectively. If this pattern repeats, Bitcoin could see a similar loss of momentum through the rest of Q3 and into Q4, with the current ETF outflows serving as an early warning sign of another May and June style breakdown in August.
Source: AMBCrypto
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