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The institutional demand for crypto is real and suggests that there may be a sustainable bitcoin the price is moving above its pivotal 200-day simple moving average (SMA).
Investors poured $858 million into crypto funds issued by asset managers such as BlackRock and 21Shares last week, extending a five-week inflow streak and marking the strongest weekly total since late April, according to CoinShares.
More importantly, bitcoin funds alone brought in over $700 million, bringing year-to-date flows to $4.9 billion. Talk about the demand for the leading cryptocurrency. The catalyst? Improving sentiment around the Clarity Act, according to CoinShares head of research, James Butterfill.
Bitcoin recently traded at $81,000, after narrowly missing the 200-day SMA located above $82,000 late Sunday. It is the second near miss since last week. Prices remain above $80,000, indicating that bulls are simply taking a breather, not retreating.
Analysts say the next major leg higher could unfold when prices top $82,000, effectively rising above the 200-day SMA, which is widely seen as a barometer of long-term trends.
“The clear next step is a daily close above $82,000 with steady spot demand. Without that, it could chop between $79,000 and $82,000 as the macro sets the tone,” analysts at Marex said.
On the downside, immediate support is seen around $80,400 and the broader demand zone remains between $78,200 and $78,600, Vikram Subburaj, CEO of India-based Giottus.com, said in an email.
In the broader market, Sui blockchain’s SUI is up 12% to $1.26 in 24 hours. The rally comes as the developers behind blockchain appear to be foraying into privacy. Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and chief product officer of Mysten Labs, the development team behind Sui, wrote on X that confidential transactions on Sui will be introduced this year, enabling fee-free privacy-preserving payments at scale.
Last week, Nasdaq-listed Sui Group Holdings (SUIG) said it had staked most of the $108.7 million worth of SUI tokens in its treasury, removing about 2.7% of the supply from the active market. That probably lubricated the bullish momentum.
The other big winner is XDC Network’s XDC token, which climbed over 10%. Several other tokens, such as KAS, HASH and ATOM , have gained 5% or more in 24 hours.
In traditional markets, yields on US Treasuries rose as dampening hopes of a US-Iran peace deal kept oil prices high. Pay attention!
Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today. For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”
What is trending
Today’s signal
The chart shows ether (ETH) daily price fluctuations in candlestick format since the end of 2025. Overlaid are Bollinger Bands, which are volatility bands placed two standard deviations around the 20-day moving average of the price.
The gap between the upper and lower bands is currently the narrowest since late 2023. In other words, at the closest in 2.5 years, signaling an extended period of compressed volatility.
Such tightening typically reflects a market in equilibrium where both buyers and sellers are unwilling to direct price action. Such low-volatility phases tend not to last long, often turning into sharper directional moves as bulls or bears resume dominance.
In short: Watch out for a big directional move ahead.
