How Germany’s Bitcoin disposal is impacting the crypto market

• Germany’s Saxony state has been selling seized Bitcoin in recent weeks, exerting pressure on the market
• Bearish sentiment around spot prices has not dispirited institutional investors seeking exposure to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin [BTC]  extended its rebound on the 10th of July, rising sharply above $58,000 as crypto markets displayed a sense of calm. 

Still, negative market sentiment has yet to subside, with the crypto Fear & Greed Index hovering in the ‘Fear’ zone at press time.

Source: Alternative.me

The current ‘Fear’ index highlights the rapid shift in market sentiment, given the index hovered at the ‘Neutral’ zone last week and the ‘Greed’ zone last month.

Germany BTC selloff

Germany’s state of Saxony offloaded more BTC in a series of transactions on 9th July. The state’s Criminal Police Office (LKA) confiscated 49,857 BTC from the operator of Movie2k.to in January.

The German police authority has been dumping these coins in the market in accordance with guidelines pertaining to assets seized in criminal investigations.

To date, the German government has transferred out more than half of its initial holdings to exchanges and other market makers.

The wallet belonging to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) had a balance of 22,847 BTC at press time, according to Arkham Intelligence data.

Bitcoin Funds post strong performance

Interestingly, the recent spot price swings to the downside have not diminished the appeal of Bitcoin funds.

The 11 US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs cumulatively registered $295 million in inflows on 8th July – the highest single-day positive net flow volume since 5th June when Bitcoin price trended above $70,000.

Source: Coinglass

Also, none of the ETFs recorded outflows on the day but three – Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund, Franklin Bitcoin ETF, and WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund – saw no activity.

Though investors drew out from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF on 9th July, the total net flow nonetheless remained positive.

These steady ETF inflows amid subdued prices suggest that institutional investors are capitalizing on the current market volatility to accumulate.

Bitcoin ETFs are seeing growing popularity

Institutional-focused crypto investment products are also receiving warm reception outside the US and Europe. 

In Australia, DigitalX announced the approval of its spot ETF product for an upcoming listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on 8th July. 

The DigitalX Bitcoin ETF will be listed under the ticker BTXX and is expected to begin trading on 12th July, the investment company said in an announcement post on X.

VanEck’s similar product, the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (VBTC), received regulatory approval on 15th June and became the first spot Bitcoin ETF to trade on the Australian Securities Exchange five days later.

More prospective issuers, including Sydney-based capital market company BetaShares, are expected to list their Bitcoin ETF products on Australia’s primary securities exchange before the end of the year.

BTC/USDT technical analysis

Bitcoin led altcoins in a modest market-wide recovery on 9th July, claiming an intraday high of $58,239 per CoinMarketCap data. Speculators have now shifted their attention to resistance levels around $60K.

Source: TradingView

On the daily chart, the $55,000 – $57,500 range has, in the last week, formed a base for BTC/USDT with a key support level around $56,600, which coincides with previous lows observed at the start of May.

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2024-2025

Clearing this range will position Bitcoin on the path to reclaiming key trendlines lost last week, including the 200-day simple moving average (MA), currently at $58,240.

Source: TradingView

Though further upside potential towards $60K is still conceivable, gains from the bullish countertrend will likely be short-term and fleeting.