Bitcoin concluded June at a historic high above $104,000 despite on-chain indicators signaling muted buyer interest, revealing institutional activity occurring predominantly through off-chain channels like OTC desks and ETFs.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs demonstrated significant institutional participation with a 12-day inflow streak approaching $4 billion throughout June. The largest single-day influx reached approximately $550 million on June 25. Major investors systematically execute substantial transactions outside blockchain visibility using centralized exchanges and OTC facilities to prevent market disruption.
The divergence between on-chain narratives and market movement appears in dwindling institutional reserves, with Bitcoin balances in recognized OTC addresses hitting all-time lows. Miner reserves simultaneously declined by about 18% since January to roughly 156,000 BTC.
Despite anticipations surrounding April 2024’s Bitcoin halving event, prices later dipped to $75,000 – marking the weakest recorded post-halving performance. The cryptocurrency currently trades near $106,200 with daily volumes around $25.7 billion, supported primarily by sustained institutional activity routed through ETFs and OTC desks.