Bitcoin’s apparent demand turns negative as price struggles with $77K

Bitcoin (BTC) sold off into the early European trading hours on Wednesday to hit local lows of $76,400, per data from CoinGecko.

Key points: 

• Bitcoin’s apparent demand indicator turns negative again, with BTC price dropping to a local low of $76,400 before reclaiming $77,000.
• USD/JPY drops sharply to 158.5, sparking speculation that another yen intervention has taken place.
• Asian equities sell off sharply as South Korea’s KOSPI falls 4.0% to 6,562.72 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 drops 2.9% to 64,325.64.

Bitcoin’s apparent demand flips negative again

The move in BTC came after US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded outflows of $236 million the day prior. Data from CryptoQuant now shows Bitcoin’s apparent demand turning negative once more after a brief reprieve during the August rally. 

Bitcoin price and apparent demand, 30-day change. Source: CryptoQuant

The indicator is inspired by similar metrics from commodity markets and measures the difference between newly mined issuance and changes in inactive supply. Positive demand implies that old coins are waking up and the market is absorbing them along with new issuance. This is taken to be a sign of active spot demand. Negative readings mean coins are aging into dormancy faster than miners issue them.