Bitcoin has suffered losses in recent days following a rejection above the $40,000 resistance level. Currently (time of this writing), the first cryptocurrency by market cap is trading at $39,414.
In the weekly chart, Bitcoin has a gain of 21.1% due to a short squeeze that has bankrupted traders with short positions. In the derivatives sector across all platforms, analyst Willy Woo sees $1 billion in liquidations on 26 July.
Bybit exchange saw the most liquidations at $413 million, followed by Huobi at $213 million, OKex at $207 and Binance at $111 million.
The overall market sentiment turned positive after the short squeeze, "an event for the history books" according to Arcane Research. The jump in bitcoin's price from $34,000 to $39,500 was bigger than the one in December 2017, when BTC reached $20,000.
Many experts and traders have become bullish. The "Fear & Greed Index" has moved up from "Extreme Fear" and is now "only" in the fear range. Despite the recent bullish price trend, many wonder if there are enough elements to sustain this trend.
Additional data from Arcane Research shows that institutional interest, one of Bitcoin's main catalysts, remains strong. According to two surveys, one conducted by Goldman Sachs and the other by Fidelity, there is an "overall positive sentiment towards cryptocurrencies" among these institutions.
Bitcoin is still king in the eyes of institutions
More than 150 family offices from around the world participated in the Goldman Sachs survey. 16% of respondents said they are already invested in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, with 24% of these US-based institutions saying they hold some of their assets in cryptocurrencies, according to Arcane Research.
Similarly, 45% of family offices at a global level said they were not invested in cryptocurrencies but expressed future interest. Family offices in Asia showed the most interest, with 68% of respondents saying they plan to invest in bitcoin and the "digital asset ecosystem".
Most of the respondents in the survey want to invest in cryptocurrencies because they are afraid of inflation and low interest rates. These are the main criteria they have in mind and play an important role when deciding to invest in crypto.
In addition, 39% of participants said that they are not interested in cryptocurrencies due to regulatory concerns and that they doubt that Bitcoin can be an efficient store of value. Others stated that they lack expertise and familiarity with this asset class.
Fidelity, on the other hand, notes that digital assets are now being adopted by far more institutions. In 2019, 22% of respondents to the same survey said they held cryptocurrencies, 36% said the same in 2020 and 52% in 2021, with 71% saying they plan to invest in cryptocurrencies and digital assets in the future.
Arcane Research concludes that the findings point to an increase in institutional presence in the crypto industry. These large participants have driven Bitcoin from $10,000 to an all-time high of $64,000 - and they will be key to further appreciation.
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