YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) continues to attract significant investor interest despite a decrease in positive Bitcoin commentary on social media. The iShares BTC Trust (IBIT) saw another inflow of $107 million on July 18. This marks the ninth consecutive day of inflows, according to Thomas Fahrer, co-founder of crypto data platform Apollo.
Seven out of these nine days had inflows exceeding $100 million, which is rare in the ETF industry. This shows that investors are still confident in Bitcoin’s long-term value, even as short-term sentiment declines.
Declining Bitcoin Sentiment Spurs Caution Among Traders
While BlackRock’s BTC ETF draws funds, the broader market sentiment is less optimistic. Blockchain market intelligence firm Santiment reports that positive commentary towards Bitcoin on social media has significantly declined. Comments on platforms like Reddit, X, 4chan, and BitcoinTalk are now about a third of what they were four months ago.
“Positive commentary toward Bitcoin has plummeted despite the mid-sized crypto market bounce this week. Many traders, particularly on Binance, are opening shorts with the expectation of BTC dropping again,”
Santiment reported.
This shows a growing caution among retail traders, who are taking short positions on BTC, expecting further price declines.
BTC Sentiment and Market Metrics: From Fear to Greed
Despite the downturn in positive sentiment, there has been a rise in “buy the dip” mentions on social media. This trend started at the beginning of the month when Bitcoin’s price dropped to a near five-month low of $53,600 on July 5.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index currently places market sentiment in the “Greed” zone, with a score of 60 out of 100. This is a strong rebound from the “Extreme Fear” zone recorded on July 12, which saw a score of 25 out of 100 – the lowest since January 2023.
Bitcoin is currently priced at $63,757.69. This represents a 2.41% drop over the last month. The market cap is $1,257,791,234,464, showing a 1.40% decrease. The 24-hour trading volume is $27,117,622,529, down by 10.68%.