Bitcoin Nears Bull Market Threshold as Whales Sell and US Funds Remain Absent

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading around $76,808, roughly $4,900 shy of the $81,700 level that CryptoQuant identifies as the benchmark for a new bull market. The price slipped 0.2% over the past 24 hours.

Whale Activity Signals Selling Pressure

CryptoQuant’s Exchange Whale Ratio reached 0.93, a level the firm flags as an alert. This metric measures the proportion of coins arriving at exchanges that originate from the largest wallets, which typically indicates selling pressure. The reading reflects a one‑hour snapshot rather than a sustained trend.

Retail Sentiment Remains Greedy

The CryptoQuant Fear and Greed Index recorded a value of 66, placing the market in the “greed” zone. A taker buy/sell ratio of 1.12 suggests that traders are paying a premium for leveraged positions.

US Institutional Participation Lacking

A negative Coinbase premium showed that Bitcoin was priced lower on the US exchange than on offshore platforms, implying that American institutional funds were not participating in the recent rally.

Potential Long Squeeze

CryptoQuant analyst GugaOnChain noted that price momentum appears exhausted at the current level and that the FEI Score is in a “zone of absolute noise.” This environment could trigger a long squeeze, where leveraged long positions are forced to sell, adding further downward pressure.

Supply Wall Ahead of Bull Market

CryptoQuant’s September 11 report identified a resistance zone between $77,100 and $80,200. Within this band, long‑term holders have moved up to 539,000 BTC this year, indicating profit‑taking activity. The same analysts highlighted that this upper band has historically been a point where traders take profits.

Key Support Levels

If Bitcoin falls, the next support zones are around $70,000 and a broader range of $62,000‑$65,000, where holders accumulated roughly 476,000 BTC earlier in the year.