Spot Markets Propel Bitcoin to $106K as Coinbase Experiences $45M Daily Purchasing Surge: Glassnode

This week, Bitcoin reached a remarkable price of $106,000, primarily fueled by strong demand in the spot market. Notably, Coinbase experienced an impressive net purchasing activity, averaging $45 million daily, as detailed by recent analyses.

The price increase followed a dip to just under $75,000 in early April and has been marked by robust accumulation phases, inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and reduced selling pressure, indicating a persistent bullish sentiment even as long-term holders took some profits.

Spot Demand Surpasses Derivative Activity

In contrast to earlier rallies driven by leveraging speculation, this recent upward movement has been defined by genuine accumulation in the spot market.

Recent data reveals that Bitcoin transactions surged within the $93,000 to $95,000 range, establishing this zone as a vital support area, correlating with the purchasing costs of traders active in the past 155 days.

The price has consistently held within this range, indicating stability through sideways accumulation, which is evident in the “stair-stepping” pattern shown on the Cost Basis Distribution heatmap.

On the other hand, the derivatives markets have shown a lag, with perpetual futures open interest decreasing by 10%, from 370,000 BTC to 336,000 BTC, potentially signaling a significant short squeeze as bearish positions were liquidated.

Nonetheless, funding rates appear neutral, suggesting a lack of excessive leverage among long positions. This observation has led analysts to believe that there might be further upward momentum for the rally.

The inflows into Bitcoin ETFs have also significantly contributed, peaking at $389 million on April 25 before settling to about $58 million daily. Coinbase, a favored platform for U.S. institutional investors, has maintained a steady buying pattern. Conversely, sell pressure from its global rival, Binance, decreased drastically from $71 million per day in March to just $9 million, signaling that investors are seizing buying opportunities during dips.

Profit-Taking by Long-Term Holders Amid Persistent Demand

Even with the price surge, some long-term Bitcoin holders have begun to realize profits, as highlighted by analysts. They noted an uptick in the Binary Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) metric, now at 0.6. This trend indicates that long-term holders are moving dormant Bitcoin for profits, although it hasn’t reached the 0.8 threshold typical of previous market peaks.

Data from Glassnode supports this observation, showing that realized profits for short-term holders have surged to nearly +3 standard deviations above the 90-day mean. However, the analytics firm warned that profit-taking hasn’t yet reached a point of exhaustion, as past rallies often required higher deviations closer to +5 to fully deplete demand and signal local market tops.