Bullish forces are weakening, and prices are hovering around key psychological levels.
In the past six days, Bitcoin's price has been consolidating above $104,000, raising concerns in the market about weakening demand.
Especially against the backdrop of its clearly declining market dominance - this indicator reached a high of 65.38% last Wednesday but has plummeted to 6.86% in the past 24 hours, indicating a significant outflow of funds to the altcoin sector.
Bullish momentum is weakening, and there are divergences in capital flow.
The decline in Bitcoin's dominance highlights that altcoins are attracting more market attention, and the momentum that previously pushed BTC to break the $100,000 mark has clearly diminished. Meanwhile, ETF data has also exacerbated pessimism. The rise at the beginning of May benefited from strong institutional entry, while this week saw net outflows from ETFs, with $86.2 million withdrawn just from Monday to Tuesday, signaling uncertainty in market direction.
Whales are stepping in to protect the market, and the bullish camp still has vitality.
Despite the underwhelming performance of ETFs, whales have quietly increased their positions. According to Coinglass data, in the past 24 hours, whales net bought spot BTC worth up to $30.24 million. This unusual capital movement indicates that top buyers are still trying to support the market and prevent prices from further dropping below $100,000.
Analysts point out that the recent rise has been driven more by institutions and whales, while retail participation remains relatively low. Particularly in the retail-dominated South Korean market, activity levels are significantly lacking. This absence may also be one of the reasons why large holders are not in a hurry to offload - the lack of liquidity for 'catching the fall' has led whales to choose to wait and see.
FOMO sentiment is brewing, and price discovery may be just around the corner.
Bitcoin is currently in a phase of high uncertainty. Although inflows slightly exceed outflows, the overall situation is tense, with the market clearly waiting for the next guidance. On a macro level, an improving economic situation and a rebound in risk assets have injected a glimmer of bullish hope into the crypto market.
If whales and institutions continue to exert their influence, Bitcoin may enter a new price discovery range. At that time, FOMO sentiment may rapidly spread, igniting retail participation and pushing the market into a bull market peak.
Whether the bull market can continue depends on how whales 'position' themselves.
Despite several signals leaning towards optimism, potential sudden events still need to be monitored for their impact on the trend. Currently, whether BTC can hold above $100,000 will determine the emotional turning point for the entire market. Whales may be the ballast and also the spark to ignite the next wave of trends.
