Bitcoin Demand is Drying Up, What Does This Mean? (CryptoQuant)

As bitcoin (BTC) attempts to recover from the effects of tensions in the Middle East, demand for the digital asset is drying up. Market experts from the on-chain intelligence company CryptoQuant have discovered that Bitcoin demand is entering a slowdown period.

According to the latest CryptoQuant weekly report, the decline in Bitcoin demand comes after a period of acceleration that pushed the price of BTC towards $112,000. Demand-momentum metrics are currently showing their most negative readings on record — -2 million BTC.

Bitcoin Demand is Weakening

CryptoQuant revealed that Bitcoin spot demand has continued to grow but at a decelerated expansion rate. Apparent demand growth has fallen to 118,000 BTC over the last 30 days, compared to 228,000 BTC recorded on May 27. The metric is also below its 30-day moving average, indicating that the demand for BTC is weakening.

Bitcoin whale and spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have halved their purchases. The expansion of whale balances has fallen to 1.7% month-over-month (MoM) from 3.9% as of May 27. Daily BTC purchases from ETFs are also down from an April 23 local peak of 9,700 BTC to 3,300 BTC today.

Additionally, demand from new participants entering the Bitcoin market is low, and overall demand momentum has turned negative. Short-term holders now account for 4.5 million BTC, a decline of 0.8 million BTC from the 5.3 million BTC they controlled as of May 27.

Furthermore, investors in the futures market have sold their BTC to lock in profits and are currently opening new short positions. CryptoQuant said its Bitcoin Traders’ Behavior Dominance metric shows that participants offloaded their coins to take profits after BTC hit $110,000 last week. Afterward, they opened fresh short positions as BTC below $105,000 amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran.

What to Expect

For BTC to experience a sustained rally, whales and spot ETFs need to increase their demand for the cryptocurrency. New investors also need to buy BTC from the old ones, thereby expanding the balances of short-term holders.

If demand continues to decline, BTC could plummet below $100,000 and fall to the support zone near $92,000. The crypto asset was hovering around $102,700 at the time of writing following the attacks from the US against Iran.

Meanwhile, CryptoQuant has identified $92,000 as the Traders’ On-chain Realized Price, which often acts as price support during bull markets. If BTC falls below this level, it could plunge to $81,000, which has been marked as the lower band of the Traders’ On-chain Realized Price.