Bitcoin funds capture $700 million as institutions place their bets

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Institutional demand for crypto is real, and suggests there may be a sustained bitcoin BTC$81,018.34 price move above its pivotal 200-day simple moving average (SMA).

Investors poured $858 million into crypto funds issued by asset managers like 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 pulled in over $700 million, taking 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, having narrowly missed the 200-day SMA positioned above $82,000 late Sunday. That's the second such near miss since last week. Prices remain above $80,000, indicating that bulls are simply taking a breather, not retreating.

Analysts say the next big leg higher could unfold once prices top $82,000, effectively rising above the 200-day SMA, which is largely seen as a barometer of long-term trends.

"The clean next step is a daily close above $82,000 with steady spot demand. Without that, it can chop between $79,000 and $82,000 while 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., according to Vikram Subburaj, CEO of India-based Giottus.com, said in an email.

In the broader market, Sui blockchain’s SUI has surged 12% to $1.26 in 24 hours. The rally comes as developers behind the blockchain look to foray into privacy. Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and chief product officer of Mysten Labs, the development team behind Sui, posted 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 that it had staked most of the $108.7 million worth of SUI tokens in its treasury, removing roughly 2.7% of supply from the active market. That likely greased the bullish momentum.

The other major gainer 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, U.S. Treasury yields rose as dimming hopes of U.S.-Iran peace deal kept oil prices elevated. Stay alert!