Bitcoins sharp recovery from last week’s plunge towards $60,000 has been accompanied by a subtle but important shift in a closely watched indicator of US demand.
The Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index — which tracks the price difference between bitcoin traded on Coinbase and the global market average — has rebounded sharply from deep negative territory, moving from about -0.22% at the height of the selloff to about -0.05% on Tuesday.
While the index remains below zero, the recovery suggests that US investors stepped in to buy the dip as pressure on forced selling eased.
Coinbase is widely regarded as a proxy for institutional and dollar-based flows. A deeply negative premium typically signals that US investors are either selling aggressively or staying on the sidelines altogether. The move back towards neutral indicates that some buyers found value at lower levels, especially as bitcoin stabilized after its fastest pullback since the 2022 FTX collapse.
Yet the premium has not turned positive, a threshold that historically coincides with sustained accumulation and renewed risk appetite among US funds. Instead, the current move points to selective buying rather than broader conviction.
Market structure data support this cautious interpretation. Aggregate trading volumes across major exchanges remain well below late 2025 highs, according to Kaiko, with spot activity showing signs of gradual attrition rather than a decisive increase in demand.
Thin liquidity means prices can jump sharply when sales are exhausted, but it also leaves the market vulnerable to renewed downside if buyers don’t follow through.
Bitcoin is currently trading just below $70,000 after recovering more than 15% from its intraday low, though it is still down over 10% on the week.
