Bitcoin pushed to nearly $63,000 on July 3, and Ether outperformed the broader market, climbing to $1,775. This end-of-week rally comes just days after BTC hit a 21-month low and ETH sank to fresh year-to-date lows.
The Fear & Greed index is still screaming “Extreme Fear” at 11 out of 100. But someone’s buying.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $221.7 million on July 2 — the biggest single-day inflow since early May. That broke a streak of 10 straight days of outflows.
Futures markets tell a slightly different story. Funding rates have stayed positive for eight days and keep climbing. That means traders betting on higher prices are paying those betting against them. Total open interest in Bitcoin futures is near multi-day highs even while price has mostly moved sideways. Leverage building up without price following is usually a caution sign, not a confirmation.
Here’s what to watch in the next few sessions. On the cautious side, can BTC hold above $61,000? That’s where a big cluster of leveraged longs sits. And was Wednesday’s ETF inflow the start of a trend or just a one-day blip?
On the optimistic side, a move above $62,500 puts BTC within reach of levels where shorts get exposed.
Bottom line: the market reads mixed. Spot buying and renewed ETF flows suggest sentiment could be improving faster than the fear index shows. But a market this deeply fearful and this leveraged toward higher prices is fragile. Throw in the US holiday weekend — typically thinner trading — and there’s plenty of uncertainty.
