GBTC Outflows Decrease by 50%; Bitcoin Price Edges above $43K

Bitcoin pushed above $43,000 on Jan. 29 as the market attempted to rebound from the post-spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval sell-off that has taken place over the last 20 days.

At the time of writing, the BTC price was trading at $43,365, up 3% on the day. Its total value was back above the $850 billion mark, cementing its top position as the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization according to the CoinMarketCap ranking.

Bitcoin ETFs overshadow GTC outflows

Bitcoin's price performance comes as the market experiences a slowdown in outflows for Grayscale's GBTC spot ETF.

Data shows Bitcoin ETF outflows from GBTC totaled $360 million on Jan. 29, a 20% decrease from the daily tally on Friday, Jan. 26 and roughly 50% off peak daily outflows.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart also noted that more than $5 billion had left GBTC since its conversion to an ETF on Jan. 11. On Jan. 26, the latest full day's trading, spot Bitcoin ETFs in total saw net inflows of $759 million despite the GBTC outflows

Meanwhile, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (iBIT) ETF held more than 52,000 BTC worth over $2 billion on the day.

The numbers were widely circulated on social media, with user OS.PT saying it is a show of "strong demand from the bull side"

Bitcoin shorts get rekt

Independent analyst Berit said in a Jan. 29 post on X that "$81 Million worth of #crypto liquidations occurred in the last 24Hrs," most of which were long positions.

Berit's observation might have been before the return of BTC above $43,000, a move that appears to have set a trap for bears who were hoping to catch the price below $40,000.

Data from CoinGlass shows long-position liquidations for the entire crypto market topping $68.87 million on Jan. 29. Bitcoin short liquidations amounted to more than $33.9 million against $7.7 million long liquidations.

Total crypto liquidations. Source: Coinglass

The current market trend is a cause for optimism among crypto investors and traders, who are hoping to see Bitcoin begin an uptrend even as the halving draws near.

This renewed hope is seen in the increase in the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, which has moved back into the "greed" zone, an increase from the "neutral" area in which it spent most of last week.

Crypto Fear and Greed Index. Source: Alternative.me

Bitcoin's V-shaped recovery could take BTC price to $50,000

BTC's price action has led to the appearance of a V-shaped recovery pattern on the daily chart.

A V-shaped recovery is a quick, sharp improvement in the price of an asset after a sharp decline. It is completed when the price returns to the level prior to the beginning of the downtrend.

In the case of Bitcoin, this level is the $47,200 level, which, if surpassed, would confirm a bullish breakout for the big crypto. The $48,000 level would pose a key resistance area for the price, with the bulls aiming for a return to $50,000, levels last seen in December 2021. If this happens, it would represent a 15% uptick from the current price.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

The moving averages and the relative strength index were facing upward, adding credence to the positive outlook. The price strength at 55 suggested that the buyers had again begun dominating the market.

On the downside, Bitcoin's price could turn away from the current levels, with the first major support emerging from $42,000 and another one at $40,000. Lower than that, BTC may drop to retest the V-shape's bottom at $38,500.