The recent surge in demand for bitcoin (BTC) in the United States can be attributed to Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s comments at the Jackson Hole symposium. While BTC has seen a rally in the U.S. market, the overall demand for Bitcoin globally has remained relatively low in recent weeks. This discrepancy highlights the growing interest from U.S. investors specifically.
One of the key indicators of increased demand from U.S. investors is the spike in the Coinbase Premium, reaching 0.11%, its highest level since July. The Coinbase Premium measures the price difference between bitcoin on the local trading platform and exchanges outside of the U.S. This increase suggests that BTC is flowing from non-U.S. exchanges to Coinbase, a trend typically observed during bull markets.
The Inter-exchange Flow Pulse metric, which tracks the one-year cumulative sum of BTC net flows between Coinbase and other exchanges, also saw a significant rally. This movement indicates that bitcoin is shifting towards the U.S.-based platform in response to the rising demand and price premium. The IFP metric serves as another confirmation of the growing interest in bitcoin within the U.S. market.
Alongside the rise in U.S. demand, the perpetual futures market for bitcoin also experienced an uptick in Open Interest (OI). OI surged by approximately 10,000 BTC to 276,000 BTC, signaling that traders were opening new long positions. This increase in OI further reinforces the dominance of buy orders over sell orders, reflecting a positive sentiment towards bitcoin in the market.
Price Movement and Profit-Taking Behavior
Despite the 6% uptick in the price of bitcoin, moving from $60,000 to $65,000, investors have not engaged in significant profit-taking. Realized profits amounting to $536 million were recorded, a stark difference from the multi-billion dollar profits seen during previous market tops this year. This behavior suggests that investors are holding onto their BTC positions, anticipating further price appreciation.
The Apparent Bitcoin Demand, a key metric that measures the daily total bitcoin block subsidy and the change in the number of BTC not moved in a year or more, has seen a decline from 496,000 BTC in early April to a negative state of 36,000 BTC. CryptoQuant emphasizes the importance of increasing apparent bitcoin demand for the crypto market to fully recover and reach new highs. This indicates that while U.S. demand for bitcoin is on the rise, there are still challenges to overcome for a sustained market rally.
Overall, the surge in bitcoin demand within the U.S. market presents a positive outlook for the cryptocurrency, but it also highlights the need for continued growth and stability in order to sustain this momentum in the long term.