Decentral Block Post

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) snapped a five-week winning streak last week but it is still on track to close the first half of the year with stellar gains of nearly 13%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has done much better as it is up about 29%. Both these indices have been overtaken by Bitcoin (BTC) which has risen nearly 83% year-to-date.

Bitcoin’s bullish price action and the recent rush by several firms to apply for a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund seem to have attracted institutional investors’ attention. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted on June 26 that the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) — a Bitcoin futures fund — witnessed its largest weekly inflow in a year.

Another bullish view was that of LookIntoBitcoin founder Philip Swift who said in his latest research that Bitcoin’s RHODL ratio metric is showing that Bitcoin’s supply has started to move from long-term holders to speculative investors, indicating increasing mainstream trading interest.

Could the entry of speculators boost prices further or is it a sign that the markets are overheated in the near term and may correct? Let’s analyze the charts to find out the next possible move.

S&P 500 Index price analysis

The S&P 500 Index turned down from 4,448 on June 16, indicating that the short-term bulls are booking profits. That has pulled the price to the breakout level near 4,325. The 20-day exponential moving average (4,314) is placed just below this level, hence the bulls are likely to defend it aggressively.

A recent surge in activity surrounding exchange-traded funds has led to the largest weekly inflow for digital asset investment products since July 2022, according to a June 26 report via CoinShares.

Totalling $199 million, inflows for the week of 19–23 June turned around a nine-week string of consecutive outflows, with Bitcoin (BTC) representing the lion’s share at $187 million (94% of overall inflows).

CoinShares analysts attributed the reversal to increasing activity from exchange-traded product (ETP) issuers in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) space:

“We believe this renewed positive sentiment is due to recent announcements from high profile ETP issuers that have filed for physically backed ETFs with the US Securities & Exchange Commission.”

As Cointelegraph reported on June 23, Bitcoin reached a 2023 high of $31,431 last week — movement that was largely attributed to institutional interest in ETFs, with both BlackRock and Fidelity Investments filing for spot Bitcoin ETFs in June.

Bitcoin (BTC) circled $30,500 at the June 26 Wall Street open as bulls held newfound support.

Bitcoin ETF hype puts demands on U.S. session

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price action retaining $30,000 around the weekly close.

The largest cryptocurrency began the week on a stable note as U.S. markets began trading, with observers hoping for a copycat move from the week prior.

Then, the United States provided the lion’s share of buyer interest, following multiple announcements of institutional product applications based on the Bitcoin spot price.

“Last week, most action and buying pressure, happened during the US Stock Market Open Hours,” popular trader Daan Crypto Trades noted on the day.