What’s Driving Bitcoin?

Bitcoin prices are bouncing back today from fresh YTD lows after the futures market gapped lower at the open, extending Friday’s sell-off. BTC remain down sharply from the initial January highs which now amount a false range-break and signal risks of a deeper push lower. Volatility in risk sentiment in recent weeks has weighed on BTC sentiment and near-term it’s hard to see what can act as a driver for a fresh bull run. A dovish surprise from the Fed from the Fed this week could possible help revive appetite. However, with gold prices seeing explosive gains, and some decent moves in FX markets, Bitcoin is lacking excitement and appeal currently meaning that we could well drift lower and retest those November lows before we start to see any proper recover higher.

Huge ETF Outflows

Bitcoin’s recent loss of appeal is best reflected in the latest ETF data which shows huge outflows from BTC ETFs. Combined funds saw outflow of just over $1 billion last week, marking the biggest exodus of capital since November 2025. Those outflows in November were accompanied by heavy futures losses, signalling bearish risks for BTC near-term.  Indeed, crypto funds have seen outflows generally with total AUM for crypto funds now down to $178 billion from $193 billion a week prior. While this dynamic continues, BTC could well push lower in coming weeks.

Technical Views

BTC

The sell off in BTC has seen the market breaking down below the corrective bull channel off November lows. This can be seen as a bear flag break, signalling risks of a fresh push lower with the $80,185 level the first support to note ahead of $69,605 as the deeper bear target. Topside, bulls need to clear $100k to shift momentum back in their favour.