US Bitcoin Demand Turns Negative as BTC Nears $57,300

Bitcoin traded near $59,800 and was down about 16% so far this month as prices approached $57,300, a level where leveraged positions are concentrated and forced liquidations could add selling pressure.

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded roughly $6.35 billion in net withdrawals over the past 30 days, the largest 30-day outflow in the period covered by the available analysis. Those redemptions reduced a source of demand that had previously absorbed supply during rallies.

Data on session returns showed that holding Bitcoin only during US trading hours would have produced a cumulative return near -15% over the past month, turning the American session into a period of net selling rather than support.

The Coinbase Premium Index remained near -0.13 after improving from around -0.25 in late February. A negative reading indicates buyers on the Coinbase exchange were not paying a premium relative to offshore venues.

João Wedson, chief executive of analytics firm Alphractal, identified $57,300 as a key liquidation level after analyzing concentrations of leverage across 30 exchanges over the past month. Liquidation levels mark prices at which leveraged traders may lack sufficient collateral and exchanges can automatically close positions, adding market sell orders.

Options and futures positioning showed notable concentrations below the current price. Data from the Deribit options market indicated about $1.1 billion in open positions at the $60,000 strike and roughly $1.4 billion across the $50,000 and $55,000 strikes. Those positions can reflect hedging, income strategies or directional bets.

Market-order flow indicators documented shifts toward selling in recent weeks. An oscillator that tracks the difference between market buys and sells rose to about 1.7% in mid-May, fell to -0.9% in early June and returned to roughly zero more recently. A separate liquidation oscillator showed long positions accounted for 18.4% of forced closures, reversing from readings near -13% in mid-May.

Risk-appetite measures moved closer to levels associated with weak investor appetite, with Ethereum entering that zone earlier. Analysts and traders noted that price action could be sensitive to further liquidation events as Bitcoin approaches the $57,300 area, absent renewed spot demand or a reduction in long-position liquidations.