CryptoQuant data shows that Bitcoin whales sent over 61,000 BTC to exchanges on July 17—the largest single-day inflow in a year.
This sudden surge in whale deposits coincided with a sharp drop in Bitcoin dominance, raising questions about whether capital is rotating into altcoins.
Whale Activity Suggests Bitcoin Is Consolidating
According to data from CryptoQuant, 32,300 BTC flowed into exchanges in just one hour on July 17. That followed two earlier transfers of 15,800 BTC and 13,400 BTC from wallets holding over 100 BTC.
These large movements typically signal profit-taking, especially after Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $123,000 on July 14.
Following the whale inflows, Bitcoin price pulled back and is now trading between $117,000 and $118,000.
Bitcoin Whale to Exchange Flow. Source: CryptoQuant
Most importantly, the timing aligns with a steep decline in Bitcoin dominance, which fell from 64% to 60% between July 17 and July 21.
A falling dominance metric often indicates that investors are rotating out of Bitcoin and into altcoins. This trend is one of the earliest signs of an emerging altcoin season.
When Bitcoin stabilizes and capital flows into Ethereum, Solana, and mid-cap tokens, altcoins tend to outperform.
Bitcoin’s short-term outlook now leans toward consolidation. If whales continue to sell, further downside pressure is possible.
However, current price support around $115,000 remains intact for now.
Meanwhile, the altcoin market is gaining strength. Ethereum, XRP, and Solana have posted double-digit gains in the past week. The meme coin market cap alone has surged 8% today, nearing $90 billion.
The Altcoin Season Index also climbed from 32 to 56, further supporting the shift in market momentum.
In summary, whale activity appears to be cooling Bitcoin’s rally while quietly fueling altcoin gains. The next move depends on whether buyers absorb the sell pressure or if another wave of whale selling occurs.
Overall, this is a cooling-off period for Bitcoin and the beginning of momentum for altcoins. Keep watching whale flows and BTC.D for confirmation of the next phase.
The crypto market reflected significant losses as the US officially entered the Iran-Israel war late Saturday night. According to President Trump, the US has bombed notable nuclear sites in Iran, signaling its first active strike in this geopolitical conflict.
The crypto market reacted with notable liquidations across the altcoin sector. Ethereum dropped over 5% following the news, trading below $2,300 for the first time in a month.
Also, Cardano is nearing a 3-month low following the news – down 6% today. AI agent coins suffered the biggest blow, as VIRTUAL and FET dipped nearly 10%.
Crypto Market Liquidations After US Strikes Iran. Source: Coinglass
While Bitcoin still holds above $102,500, indicators suggest it could potentially fall below the $100,000 psychological level if further escalations are reported over the weekend.
As of now, the market will be cautiously looking at Iran’s response. President Trump has stated that any response from Iran would result in further US actions.
Overall, crypto liquidations exceeded $670 million today, and further escalation could very well signal a short-term bearish cycle.
Hedera will upgrade its mainnet to version 0.63 on July 23, 2025, at 17:00 UTC. The scheduled maintenance will last about 40 minutes and may temporarily slow transaction processing across the network.
The update focuses on improving system operations and network performance. However, it does not introduce any changes to HBAR tokenomics or smart contract execution.
What is the Hedera Mainnet Upgrade?
The new version includes three primary changes:
Support for non-zero shard and realm IDs in system commands.
Fee configuration throttling, which adds rate-limiting to administrative changes.
MerkleDB tuning, which improves node storage efficiency and reduces processing overhead.
These changes aim to increase resilience and operational flexibility for developers and node operators. Hedera CLI tools like yahcli will now function across custom network partitions.
Scheduled (Jul 23, 2025, 17:00 UTC): Hedera will be upgrading Hedera mainnet to v0.63 on Wednesday, July 23 2025 at 17:00 UTC. The upgrade will take approximately 40 minutes to complete, users should expect some disruption to network … https://t.co/kTi70n0W7d
There are no direct changes to HBAR’s utility. Core token functions—transfers, staking, smart contract gas—will remain unaffected. Transaction fees and staking mechanisms also remain unchanged.
Users may experience temporary delays or halted transaction processing during the upgrade window.
However, normal operations will resume once maintenance ends.
Analysts pointed to a bullish technical setup, with a golden cross forming and strong exchange inflows backing the move. While short-term RSI suggests HBAR may be overbought, the broader sentiment remains bullish.
Bitcoin (BTC) enters May 2025 with renewed momentum, gaining over 14% in the past 30 days and trading just 6.3% below the key $100,000 mark. Behind the price action, Bitcoin’s apparent demand has turned positive for the first time since late February, signaling a shift in on-chain behavior.
However, fresh inflows—especially from US-based ETFs—remain subdued compared to 2024 levels, suggesting institutional conviction has yet to fully return. According to MEXC COO Tracy Jin, if current conditions hold, a summer rally toward $150,000 is plausible, with sentiment turning increasingly bullish.
Bitcoin Apparent Demand Turns Positive, But Fresh Inflows Still Lacking
Bitcoin’s apparent demand has shown clear signs of recovery recently, rising to 65,000 BTC over the past 30 days. This marks a sharp rebound from the trough on March 27, when apparent demand—defined as the net 30-day change in holdings across all investor cohorts—reached a deeply negative level of -311,000 BTC.
Apparent demand reflects the aggregated balance shifts across wallets and provides insight into whether capital is entering or exiting the Bitcoin network.
While the current demand level is still well below earlier peaks in 2024, a meaningful inflection point occurred on April 24: Bitcoin’s apparent demand turned positive and has remained positive for six consecutive days after nearly two months of sustained outflows.
Despite this improvement, broader demand momentum remains weak.
The continued lack of significant new inflows suggests that most of the recent accumulation may be driven by existing holders rather than fresh capital entering the market.
For Bitcoin to mount a sustainable rally, both apparent demand and demand momentum must show consistent and synchronized growth. Until that alignment occurs, the current stabilization may not support a strong or prolonged price breakout.
US Spot Bitcoin ETF Inflows Still Far Below 2024 Levels
Bitcoin purchases from U.S.-based ETFs have remained largely flat since late March, fluctuating between daily net flows of -5,000 to +3,000 BTC.
This activity level sharply contrasts with the strong inflows seen in late 2024, when daily purchases frequently exceeded 8,000 BTC and contributed to Bitcoin’s initial rally toward $100,000.
So far in 2025, BTC ETFs have collectively accumulated a net total of 28,000 BTC, well below the more than 200,000 BTC they had purchased by this point last year.
This decline shows a slowdown in institutional demand, which has historically been key in driving major price movements.
Bitcoin: Net Cumulative Inflows to US Spot ETFs by Year. Source: CryptoQuant.
There are early signs of a modest rebound, with ETF inflows beginning to tick higher recently. However, current levels remain insufficient to fuel a sustained uptrend.
ETF activity is often viewed as a proxy for institutional conviction, and a notable increase in purchases would likely signal renewed confidence in Bitcoin’s medium-term trajectory.
Until those inflows return in force, the broader market may struggle to generate the momentum needed for a prolonged rally.
Bitcoin Nears $100,000 as Momentum Builds Despite Macro Pressure
Bitcoin price has gained over 14% in the past 30 days, rebounding strongly after dipping below $75,000 in April.
This renewed momentum comes as BTC shows relative resilience amid broader macroeconomic volatility and policy-driven pressures, including Trump’s tariff measures that have weighed on risk assets.
While the entire crypto market has felt the impact, Bitcoin appears to be detaching slightly, showing less sensitivity to these external shocks than other digital assets.
BTC now sits just 6.3% below the $100,000 mark and remains under 17% from a potential move toward $110,000. According to Tracy Jin, COO of MEXC, sentiment is turning positive again:
“Beyond immediate price action, the growing institutional appetite and shrinking supply mechanisms against the macroeconomic uncertainty backdrop point to a structural shift in Bitcoin’s role within the global financial market. BTC is used to hedging against inflation and the fiat-based financial model. Its liquidity, scalability, programmability, and global accessibility offer a reliable modern alternative to traditional financial instruments for many corporations,” Jin said.
According to Jin, a summer rally towards $150,000 is plausible. She stressed that the $95,000 range will likely become a launch point for the brewing decisive breakout above $100,000 in the coming days.
” Should global trade tensions stabilize further and institutional accumulation continues, a summer rally towards $150,000 is plausible, potentially extending towards $200,000 by 2026. Overall, the external background remains favorable for the continuation of the upward movement, especially given the growth of stock indices on Friday, which could support Bitcoin over the weekend.”
