Bitcoin (BTC) continues its upward momentum in July, officially surpassing the new all-time high of over 120,000 USD today. The leading cryptocurrency has now increased by 15% this month, heading towards completing the third consecutive green candle.
The main driving force behind the rally is the strong institutional capital influx, particularly from BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF – IBIT, which recently reached a record 83 billion USD in assets under management (AUM) on Thursday. After just 200 trading sessions, IBIT's AUM has tripled – a milestone that the GLD gold ETF took over 15 years to achieve. Currently, IBIT holds more than 700,000 BTC, surpassing Strategy company by nearly 100,000 BTC.
Bloomberg's ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, remarked:
"IBIT surpassed the 80 billion USD mark in just 374 days – five times faster than the previous record held by VOO (1,814 days). With 83 billion USD AUM, IBIT is now the 21st largest ETF globally."
The market signs are not too hot yet
An important on-chain indicator – the net unrealized profit/loss of long-term holders (LTH-NUPL) – is currently at 0.69, still below the threshold of 0.75 usually associated with 'over-exuberance' phases. In the previous cycle, this indicator remained above 0.75 for 228 days, while the current cycle has only been around 30 days, indicating that the market still has room for growth.
Analyst Axel Adler Jr. stated that the Bitcoin network is seeing a steady increase in users, with no signs of dumping or panic. The average daily transaction count has risen from 340,000 to 364,000 over the past two days – although it is still low compared to the previous peak of 530,000–666,000 transactions per day. Adler commented:
"There are no signs that holders are selling off. This reinforces bullish signals both technically and fundamentally."
In addition, data from CryptoQuant shows that 'accumulator wallets' – wallets that continuously buy BTC without significant outflow – have surged in the past month. According to CryptoQuant, this group of wallets currently holds 250,000 BTC, the highest since the beginning of 2024. Demand over the past 30 days has increased by 71%, from 148,000 BTC at the end of June to the current level, reflecting the strong confidence of long-term investors.
