Bitcoin demand metric flips negative as price stalls near $77K

Bitcoin’s apparent demand metric flipped negative on Wednesday as the price dropped to a local low of $76,400 in early European trading before recovering to about $77,000. The decline followed $236 million of net outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded the previous day.

The indicator from on-chain analytics compares newly mined Bitcoin issuance with changes in inactive supply. A positive reading means older coins are moving back into circulation as the market absorbs fresh issuance. A negative reading means coins are moving into longer-term dormancy faster than miners create new supply.

The pullback coincided with risk-off moves in Asian markets and a sharp decline in the USD/JPY currency pair to roughly 158.5 from near 160, prompting market speculation of yen intervention; no official confirmation has been released. The US 10-year Treasury yield briefly eased below 4.8%.

Asian equities fell sharply. South Korea’s KOSPI closed down about 4.0% at 6,562.72, with chipmakers registering notable losses. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped about 2.9% to 64,325.64, and Taiwan’s TAIEX fell about 1.7%. Market participants pointed to rising oil prices and profit-taking in technology and AI-related stocks as factors behind the declines.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin had reclaimed the $77,000 level but remained beneath a cluster of technical resistance. Traders and analysts are monitoring ETF cash flows, on-chain supply indicators and macro events such as currency moves or shifts in bond yields for signals on near-term spot demand.

All market positions carry risk; prices can move quickly in response to fund flows and broader financial-market developments.