Bitcoin Surges 7% to $69,500 as ETF Inflows Return After Five-Week Drought
Bitcoin reached a weekly high of $69,500 on Wednesday, marking a gain of more than seven percent within a single day. The price climbed from lows near $62,400 and marks one of the strongest daily moves following months of selling pressure. The recovery coincides with a stabilization of broader risk markets after political signals from the US and positive corporate earnings improved investor sentiment.
Market observers attribute the rally primarily to spot demand, while derivatives data suggests a cleansing of excessive leverage.
Analysis of futures market data shows that Bitcoin’s aggregated open interest has fallen to approximately 235,167 BTC after previously reaching levels above 240,000 BTC. This decline indicates that excess leveraged positions have already been liquidated during recent volatility. Meanwhile, aggregated funding rates remain slightly negative at minus 0.0037 percent, signaling that short positions continue to pay long positions. The combination of declining open interest and negative to neutral funding rates points to a market that has reset its leverage rather than overheating.
ETF Inflows End Weeks of Outflows
US-traded spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $257.7 million on February 24, ending five consecutive weeks of redemptions that totaled $3.8 billion. Fidelity attracted approximately $83 million, while BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust added nearly $79 million.
This reversal in institutional inflows occurs alongside macroeconomic developments that have strengthened investor confidence. US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening highlighted a decline in core inflation of 1.7 percent over the last three months of 2025, which markets interpreted as a sign of reduced near-term policy uncertainty.
Mining Capitulation Nearing an End
The Bitcoin price has recovered from a decline of nearly 50 percent since the October high of $126,000 and is now trading again above estimated average production costs of approximately $66,000. The market had traded Bitcoin below the level many miners need for positive cash flow for weeks. The recovery occurred from the 0.786 Fibonacci retracement zone near $62,000, a level that coincides with earlier daily support. The Hash Ribbon, which tracks short- and medium-term hash rate trends, is on the verge of a recovery signal after nearly three months of miner stress. This phase ranks among the longest capitulations on record, with similar events since 2011 coinciding with local or major Bitcoin lows approximately 20 times.
Parallel to the Bitcoin rally, crypto-exposed stocks have recorded significant gains. Coinbase rose more than 13 percent, MicroStrategy gained more than eight percent, and Robinhood climbed more than six percent. Analysts point out that order book dynamics in the $60,000 to $63,000 range showed strong bid pressure that absorbed selling. Since reaching this zone, the price has extended upward by approximately eight percent. The cumulative delta volume shows that spot buyers are entering and are among the primary drivers of this rally, while options data suggests that market makers hold positive gamma positions, which tends to dampen volatility.
$70,000 as Next Resistance
Despite the recovery, Bitcoin faces resistance zones in the mid-$70,000 range, where the volume-weighted control point is located. A recapture of this zone would place Bitcoin above its volume-weighted center and reset the short-term structure. On-chain data shows, however, that a large portion of supply continues to be held at a loss, pointing to potential selling pressure at higher prices. Market observers emphasize that mining signals serve best as context and do not function as precise timing instruments, while price structure remains the primary driver for further developments.
