Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a pullback, declining 2.6% over the past 24 hours to trade around the $115,000 level.
The decline is attributed to significant profit-taking activity, combined with substantial outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) totaling $285 million over three consecutive days of redemptions.
Concurrently, capital rotated towards Ethereum (ETH) and select alternative cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum notably outperformed Bitcoin this month, surging roughly 50% partly fueled by record-breaking inflows into newly approved spot ETH ETFs.
Caution permeates broader crypto markets ahead of key U.S. macroeconomic data releases and looming Federal Reserve policy decisions.
Despite the retreat, analysts characterize the move as a healthy consolidation phase. Observers like Rekt Capital noted that critical long-term price support levels held firm despite this week’s pullback on weekly price charts.
Further analysis by Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, suggests institutional entities might be absorbing the coins sold by retail investors during this consolidation, potentially indicating a shift towards a new phase in Bitcoin’s market cycle.