Institutional Buying Fails to Offset Weak Bitcoin Spot Demand, Casting Doubt on Price Momentum

Despite robust institutional interest in bitcoin, the cryptocurrency’s price remains stuck in consolidation, weighed down by fading spot market demand that could hinder its next breakout.

As Asian markets open for a new trading week, bitcoin (BTC) is trading around $109,000, showing a modest 0.8% gain over the past week and up 4.5% for the month, based on CoinDesk data.

Even with continued significant bitcoin acquisitions by Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy (MSTR), steady inflows into bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), and more corporations adopting BTC as part of their treasury reserves, bitcoin’s price has yet to reclaim its all-time highs.

A fresh analysis from CryptoQuant reveals why: Institutional buying alone isn’t enough to counteract a broader slowdown in spot demand for bitcoin.

“The annual growth of bitcoin demand shows a similar picture: ETFs and MSTR purchases are a portion of bitcoin demand, overall demand contraction is more than offsetting these purchases, and the acceleration of overall demand growth is what drives price rallies,” CryptoQuant explained in its recent report.

According to CryptoQuant, demand for bitcoin has contracted by around -895,000 BTC over the past 30 days—a significant figure illustrating the scale of the shortfall.

Adding to the concern, institutional purchases themselves have slowed sharply compared to December. In the final month of last year, ETFs acquired 86,000 BTC, while MicroStrategy added 171,000 BTC to its holdings. Over the past month, those figures have shrunk considerably: ETFs purchased only 40,000 BTC, and MSTR’s buys dropped to 16,000 BTC.

As a result, bitcoin continues to consolidate within a tight range, with CryptoQuant warning that current demand levels are insufficient to propel a breakout rally.

Another indicator of waning retail interest is bitcoin’s nearly empty mempool, suggesting a lack of transaction activity and spot market engagement from individual investors.

The critical question now is whether institutional buyers can sustain their pace—or whether slowing acquisitions will create further resistance for bitcoin’s price.

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, has voiced skepticism about the long-term sustainability of the bitcoin treasury trend as a dependable source of demand:

“Right now we’re having this replicative treasury company idea. So, you know, it will fade,” Scaramucci said in a recent interview with Bloomberg.

“Saylor’s case is different because he’s got a couple different products going now,” Scaramucci added. “I’m not negative on the others, because I’m too bullish on bitcoin, but I would just say as an investor, you have to look through the underlying costs associated with each one of these treasury companies.”

Nonetheless, Standard Chartered remains firmly bullish on bitcoin, maintaining its forecast for the cryptocurrency to eventually reach $200,000.

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Market Movements

• BTC: Bitcoin held above $108,500 throughout the weekend and rose from $108,327 to $108,620 in the past hour. The range of $108,200–$108,300 is now acting as support for the upward trend.
• ETH: Ethereum climbed from $2,520.45 to $2,558.63 on July 6, with trading volume hitting 272,352 ETH. It’s finding support around $2,510 amid global macroeconomic tensions. June saw $1.1 billion in ETH ETF inflows, and record levels of whale accumulation suggest potential for a breakout, though resistance looms near $2,600.
• Gold: Gold surged 1.91% last week to $3,336.61, driven by a weaker dollar, a 91.5% probability of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September, renewed tariff threats, and a 73% jump in China’s gold imports.
• Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dipped 0.26% as markets reacted to mixed signals from the White House regarding trade tariffs.