Bitcoin Rebounds After $900M Whale Sale, Ethereum ETF Inflows Soar

• Bitcoin demonstrating resilience, recovering swiftly after a $900 million OTC sale due to robust institutional demand.
• Ethereum ETF inflows doubling, fueling a 25% monthly gain and highlighting surging investor appetite.

Bitcoin showcased remarkable resilience following a massive over-the-counter (OTC) sale. On July 26, 2024, The Block reported that Galaxy Digital facilitated the sale of 8,000 BTC, worth approximately $900 million, for a long-dormant wallet. The sale triggered a brief 4% price dip. However, Bitcoin’s value quickly recovered, buoyed by strong institutional participation.

Substantial market inflows counterbalanced the sale's scale. Throughout July, treasury companies and exchange-traded products (ETPs) added a net 35,165 BTC to their holdings. This underscored the pivotal role of institutional demand in stabilizing the market after such a large sell-off.

Meanwhile, the derivatives market observed heightened activity. Perpetual futures open interest reached levels unseen since late 2021. The surge in open interest reflects increased hedging by OTC desks, though it also raises concerns about potential liquidation risks. Market participants are managing these risks while maintaining strategic investment positions.

At the same time, Ethereum saw a sharp rise in both speculative and institutional activity. According to a Bybit report, inflows into Ethereum ETFs more than doubled in the last six weeks, adding over 1.6 million ETH. This surge contributed to Ethereum’s 25% monthly price increase and solidified its ETH/BTC price ratio at its strongest level since January 2022.

Ethereum ETFs attracted $5.1 billion in July inflows, closely trailing Bitcoin’s $5.7 billion, even though Ethereum’s market cap is less than a third that of Bitcoin. Institutional interest in Ethereum also surged. Data from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) showed a 527,000 ETH rise in non-leveraged open interest during the month. Furthermore, Glassnode data revealed Ethereum's perpetual open interest dominance climbed to 30%, its highest level since April 2021.

As of July 29, 2024, 16:08 UTC, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $117,396.96. According to market data, this reflects a 0.59% dip in the past 24 hours but a 6.38% rise in 24-hour trading volume. Meanwhile, as of 16:09 UTC, Ethereum (ETH) is trading at $5,757. It recorded a 1.11% decline in the past 24 hours but a 1.53% increase in 24-hour trading volume.