Bitcoin’s price revival at the end of the business week caught many short traders off guard as the asset skyrocketed to a new all-time high of almost $119,000 following an extended period of muted movements.
Although there was not one single big announcement that could have been related to the explosive rally, there are several reasons that were building up for weeks, which could be attributed to the new peak.
Overall Accumulation
The following reasons will be combined into one category of “overall accumulation,” even though they may vary by investor type, different moments of purchases, etc. We will start with the ETFs as they’re the freshest. As reported yesterday, the spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US attracted more than $2.7 billion within the past five trading days alone.
In addition, they have seen only one day in net outflows since June 9. Both of these factors can drive the underlying asset’s price north, especially when investors spend more than $2 billion to accumulate ETF shares in two consecutive days (July 10 and 11).
Next, we will list the accumulation by large companies. Strategy, which admittedly failed to announce a purchase last week, has spent billions in the past few months to acquire more $BTC. Its example has been followed to a smaller extent by other companies that now hold bitcoin as a reserve asset, such as Metaplanet, GameStop, and Semler Scientific.
Although these purchases might not impact the asset’s price immediately, their continuous efforts certainly play a role as they reduce the immediate selling pressure.
The accumulation trend expands well beyond institutions and large companies. Glassnode reported recently that smaller investors, categorized as shrimps, crabs, and fish (wallets holding less than 100 $BTC), have been acquiring more than 19,000 $BTC per month. In comparison, miner issuance stands at just 13,400 $BTC per month.
Looking at accumulation by wallet size: Shrimps, Crabs, and Fish – wallets with <100 $BTC – are accumulating ~19.3k $BTC/month, while miner issuance stands at 13.4k $BTC/month.
Persistent net absorption across a wide base of holders is creating measurable supply-side tightening. pic.twitter.com/ajut5hlpqv— glassnode (@glassnode) July 12, 2025
The aforementioned purchases from various types of investors, most of whom are transferring their $BTC holdings out of exchanges, lead us to the next reason (yes, they are related). According to CryptoQuant, the amount of $BTC stored on trading platforms has declined to the lowest level in a decade, another signal that investors are looking for the long term.
Macroeconomic Reasons
The reasons above paint a clear picture that investors are accumulating. Now, let’s get down to why they might be doing so.
Although Trump bombarded numerous nations and entire Unions with new sets of tariffs in the past few weeks, including on Saturday, the effect is nowhere near as devastating to $BTC as it was back in April. At the time, bitcoin’s price collapsed to a five-month low, while now, the tariffs are somehow considered beneficial for the cryptocurrency.
As analysts from QCP put it:
“Will Trump delay implementation once again? That remains to be seen. But repeated cycles of tariff threats and postponements have contributed to positive uncertainty. Business sentiment and manufacturing indices have remained firmly in expansion territory.”
BREAKING: President Trump sends out more “tariff letters” with the following tariff rates now announced:
1. Brazil: 50%
2. Myanmar: 40%
3. Laos: 40%
4. Cambodia: 36%
5. Thailand: 36%
6. Bangladesh: 35%
7. Canada: 35%
8. Serbia: 35%
9. Indonesia: 32%
10. European Union: 30%
11.…— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) July 12, 2025
In the meantime, we will conclude our reasoning with the declining US dollar index. Experts have long predicted a massive parabolic move for $BTC once the greenback loses traction. This is because investors tend to jump into store-of-value assets, such as gold and bitcoin, in times when the dollar is weak.
Nicolai Sondergaard, Research Analyst at Nansen, told CryptoPotato that although he didn’t believe this rally was mostly driven by macro events, he thinks certain US policies have attributed to it.
“Recent U.S. policy developments such as fiscal expansion and expectations of further monetary easing have created a backdrop that is undeniably favorable for Bitcoin.”
Will $BTC Keep Surging?
The big question now is whether these reasons will continue to push the cryptocurrency higher. In a memo to CryptoPotato, analysts from Bitfinex seemed optimistic.
“Unless ETF inflows collapse or macro takes a sharp turn, the structure remains intact. Bitcoin has flipped $111k–$114k into support, and as long as that holds, the trend is higher. For traders, the message is simple: respect the flows, watch for funding dislocations, and stay tactical around round-number resistance levels for Bitcoin.”
Nevertheless, they warned that “no rally goes up in a straight line.” The analysts added that $BTC could be due for a correction first, as they have already started to “see some signs of temporary exhaustion.”
Nansen’s Sondergaard also weighed in on whether bitcoin has the strength to keep marching forward:
“Bitcoin recently broke through key liquidation levels and managed to hold above them, which I believe signaled there was more room for upside.
On the technical side, Bitcoin’s daily RSI has climbed above 70, which is typical in strong momentum phases. It’s not inherently bearish; RSI rising during price rallies is normal. However, if price continues to rise while RSI starts to diverge or decline, that could be an early signal of fading momentum and the potential for a correction.”
