Bitcoin broke through the $63,000 support: what is behind the new round of correction
On August 14, the leading cryptocurrency once again came under pressure, breaking through the psychologically significant level of $63,000. This decline pushed the asset back to the lows seen in early August, signaling that bearish sentiment persists in the market.
At the time of data recording, bitcoin is trading around $62,600, showing a daily decline of 1.5%. Notably, Ethereum, unlike the flagship asset, has remained virtually unchanged in price, holding near the $1,860 mark. This divergence indicates that the pressure is concentrated specifically in bitcoin, rather than across the entire altcoin segment.
Institutional demand is weakening
A key alarming signal has been the behavior of institutional investors. Flow analytics for spot bitcoin ETFs show that a two-day streak of outflows has been recorded for the first time since late July. Over August 12 and 13, total withdrawals amounted to $192 million. This suggests that major players prefer to lock in profits or reduce risks, lacking confidence in an immediate recovery.
The stock market is rising, but bitcoin is not
Of particular interest is the fact that the cryptocurrency's decline is occurring despite positive momentum in traditional markets. The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) fell to 4.7%, which came in better than analyst forecasts. Typically, such data stimulates risk appetite, but in the case of bitcoin, we see the opposite reaction. This underscores that the current weakness is structural in nature, rather than cyclical.
Imbalance in the derivatives market
Despite the price decline, open interest in bitcoin futures on Binance has continued to grow since early July, standing at $27.09 billion. This paradox is explained simply: the market is flooded with leveraged positions, while spot demand remains sluggish. Such a configuration is extremely dangerous. When positive macroeconomic news fails to drive growth, borrowed positions begin to be closed, amplifying the downward momentum.
An additional factor of pressure is the potential supply overhang in the zone of short-term holders' cost basis — around $68,700. This area acts as a kind of "ceiling" that will be extremely difficult to overcome without a powerful influx of liquidity.
My view on the situation: The current correction is not just a routine fluctuation, but a signal of a deep imbalance between speculative and real demand. If no catalyst emerges in the coming days in the form of renewed ETF inflows, there is a high probability of testing the $58,500 zone, which analysts had warned about earlier. The market needs time to "flush out" excess leverage and find a new equilibrium point.