Bitcoin’s bullish sentiment in ‘serious decline’

Bitcoin’s positive sentiment has taken a “serious dive,” according to analysts at market intelligence platform Santiment.

On Thursday, as Bitcoin (BTC) struggled to regain its recent uptrend, Santiment shared that funding rates were indicating an increase in bearish bets.

“Despite the mid-cap crypto market rally this week, positive sentiment towards Bitcoin has fallen. Many investors, especially on Binance, are opening short positions in anticipation of BTC falling again,” the platform wrote.

Bullish comments on Bitcoin’s price have fallen to about a third of the rate seen four months ago, with data also suggesting that investors are increasingly betting against BTC rising in the short term.

📊 Despite the mid-cap cryptocurrency market jumping this week, positive comments about Bitcoin have fallen. Many investors, especially @binanceHe is opening shorts in anticipation of BTC falling again. Both of these factors increase the likelihood of the cryptocurrency rallying. pic.twitter.com/50Z1TvJpUx

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) July 18, 2024

Bitcoin holders are withdrawing their BTC from exchanges

Bitcoin’s surge to $66,000 earlier this week has given way to a drop to around $63,380. The price is down just over 2.5% in the last 24 hours, which is exactly what Bitfinex analysts said was likely to happen, as highlighted in our previous news.

As positive sentiment wanes and investors increase their short positions, Santiment suggests that these factors “increase the likelihood of the cryptocurrency rallying.”

Crypto analyst Woo Minkyu noted in a post on X on Thursday that Bitcoin holders have been withdrawing large amounts of money from exchanges recently. This occurred after BTC fell below $54,000 on July 5 — a scenario that coincided with major selling pressure from the German government and the first BTC transfers from Mt. Gox.

At that time, the amount of BTC that investors withdrew from exchanges was $3.8 billion, causing prices to rise from $56,000 to over $65,000.

This week, on July 16, Bitcoin holders flocked to exchanges again, withdrawing another $3.4 billion worth of BTC. Short positions were caught off guard after that, but the flagship cryptocurrency has fallen again in the past 24 hours amid new sentiment stemming from Mt. Gox.

While prices are trading lower than weekly highs, this movement of BTC on exchanges suggests that holders are planning to hold, which often has a positive impact on the price.