Key Insights:
- Bitcoin (BTC) price trades below its May highs, where a major liquidity cluster could trigger a short squeeze.
- Breaking above May’s peak confirms a shift in Bitcoin’s price and bullish market structure.
- Bitcoin ETFs recorded $730.87 million in daily inflows, raising concerns that Bitcoin Price may approach a local top.
Bitcoin price trades at $79,464 after failing to retain an intraday move above $82,000. The reversal places the BTC price below a major liquidation cluster around $82,000–$83,000. Meanwhile, large ETF inflows have renewed comparisons with earlier local peaks.
CryptoQuant reports that short covering, rather than new buyer demand, supplied most of the rally’s momentum.
Bitcoin Price Retreats Below $80,000
The price of Bitcoin began its intraday advance near $78,500 and reached $82,107. It then consolidated around $81,000 for several hours before sellers pushed it below $80,000. Consequently, the decline erased most intraday gains, although BTC retained a 1.2% increase over 24 hours.
Immediate support sits near the daily low of $78,459. Meanwhile, $80,000 represents the first recovery level for the BTC price. A rebound would return attention to resistance between $81,500 and $82,100.
That resistance matches the liquidation structure identified by Daan Crypto Trades. His heatmap shows dense liquidity between $82,000 and $83,000, near Bitcoin’s May highs. The sell wall follows Bitcoin’s recovery from its mid-August lows.
A decisive breakout could liquidate leveraged short positions and generate forced buying. Moreover, the move would carry Bitcoin above its previous swing high. Daan reported that such a break would confirm a bullish change in market structure.
However, another rejection could pull the Bitcoin price toward lower liquidity levels. The heatmap also shows a larger long-liquidation cluster around $61,000–$63,000. Reaching that lower area would require a deeper market reversal.
Bitcoin ETF Inflows Revive Local Top Debate
Alongside the sell wall, Ted examined the latest $730.87 million daily inflow into Bitcoin ETFs. His chart compares it with two earlier sessions when totals exceeded $700 million. Both events appeared near local peaks before the price of Bitcoin entered deeper corrections.
Bitcoin reversed from approximately $124,000 and $97,000 after those earlier inflow spikes. The latest total arrived with Bitcoin trading near $81,200. Nevertheless, two previous examples cannot establish that large ETF inflows cause market reversals.
Ted’s comparison requires confirmation before signaling another short-term top. Specifically, the Bitcoin price would need rejection near $82,000–$83,000, followed by a loss of $78,000.
Jelle also reviewed the relationship between large inflows and market highs. He ranked the $730 million total behind January’s $840 million inflow. That makes the latest figure the second-largest daily total of 2026. Notably, Jelle found that the earlier comparable inflow arrived near a local high.
BTC Weak Spot Demand Limits Confirmation
CryptoQuant’s data adds buyer activity to the resistance and ETF analysis. Bitcoin stabilized between $76,000 and $81,000 after a 24% rally. It reached $81,400 on August 28 before cooling into its range.
However, the advance stopped below the 365-day moving average at $82,300. CryptoQuant uses a close around $83,000 to confirm a new bull market. Until then, the firm classifies the move as a rally within an early bullish phase.
Underlying demand has weakened. Apparent spot demand returned to contraction after briefly reaching its fastest expansion rate of 2026. Additionally, the Coinbase premium turned negative at minus 0.05. CryptoQuant uses that measurement to gauge demand from United States investors.
Meanwhile, holders realized 23,000 BTC in net profit on August 21, the largest daily amount of 2026. Realized net profit has totaled 110,000 BTC since August 19. CryptoQuant identifies that activity as a bullish-cooldown signal following the advance.
Futures data shows that liquidated and covered shorts drove most of the move. Few new long positions entered, while traders started rebuilding short positions. Even so, CryptoQuant’s Bull Score stands at 70, inside bullish territory. The firm places support at Bitcoin’s 200-day moving average near $69,000.
