Asia Morning Briefing: Michael Saylor’s BTC Buys Aren’t Making Up for Slowing Spot Demand, Say Analysts
Bitcoin (BTC) opened the Asian trading week at $109,000, reflecting a 0.8% weekly and 4.5% monthly increase. Despite significant institutional buying from Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy (MSTR) and continued ETF inflows, BTC’s price remains below all-time highs. CryptoQuant attributes this to a decline in overall spot demand, outweighing institutional purchases. The report highlights an 895,000 BTC contraction in demand over the past 30 days, with a significant slowdown in ETF and MSTR purchases compared to December. ETFs bought 40,000 BTC this past month, down from 86,000 in December, while MSTR’s purchases dropped from 171,000 to 16,000. BTC’s nearly empty mempool further indicates low retail spot demand, suggesting a consolidation phase. The slowing institutional buying raises concerns about future price resistance.
Anthony Scaramucci of SkyBridge Capital anticipates a decline in the BTC treasury trend, a key source of demand, although he remains bullish on Bitcoin overall. He cautions investors to consider the underlying costs associated with these treasury strategies. Conversely, Standard Chartered maintains a bullish outlook, predicting a $200,000 BTC price target.
Market movements show BTC consolidating above $108,500, supported at $108,200-$108,300. Ethereum (ETH) rallied to $2,558.63, supported at $2,510, driven by $1.1 billion in June ETF inflows and whale accumulation, despite resistance near $2,600. Gold surged 1.91% to $3,336.61, boosted by a weak dollar, anticipated Federal Reserve rate cuts, tariff threats, and increased Chinese gold imports. The Nikkei 225 slipped 0.26% amid ongoing tariff uncertainty.
Other crypto news includes a decline in US recession odds on Polymarket, highlighting the cooling of trade tensions. Ethereum’s increasing role in Wall Street’s future is noted, alongside Sweden’s efforts to increase seizures of criminal crypto profits.
