Bitcoin Surges 24.92% to $117,947 on Institutional Interest

Bitcoin's price has surged past $117,000, marking a new all-time high and signaling a robust bull market. This surge was driven by a combination of factors, including short liquidations and growing institutional interest. The price increase was also accompanied by a rise in network activity, indicating heightened engagement within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Institutional buyers were particularly active, contributing significantly to the volume of transactions exceeding $100,000. Technical analysis suggests that the next resistance levels for Bitcoin are between $120,000 and $150,000.

The surge in Bitcoin's price was also fueled by a wave of reawakened whale wallets, which added to the overall market momentum. These dormant wallets, previously inactive, began to show activity, contributing to the price increase. Additionally, the surge sparked $1 billion in short liquidations, further driving the price upward. This liquidation event was a result of traders being forced to close their short positions as the price of Bitcoin rose, adding to the buying pressure.

The institutional interest in Bitcoin was further evidenced by the record inflows into US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs. These funds saw cumulative inflows of $1.2 billion, the second strongest daily performance since their launch in 2024. BlackRock’s IBIT led the day with $448.5 million in inflows and over $5 billion in trading volume, more than double its usual daily average. IBIT now holds over 700,000 Bitcoin, a record high, and is just shy of $80 billion in assets under management. Other Bitcoin ETF issuers, such as Fidelity’s FBTC and Ark 21Shares’ ARKB, also recorded strong performance with significant inflows.

The surge in Bitcoin ETF activity is a clear indication of institutional interest, spurred by the broader market rally. This influx of new funds into these ETFs is a significant accomplishment, as it requires convincing investors to buy into the ETFs. The assets under management in Bitcoin ETFs have grown to over $40 billion, and with market appreciation, they are now around $120 billion. This growth is astonishing, considering it took over a decade for gold funds to reach a similar level. Analysts predict that Bitcoin ETFs could surpass gold funds in assets within the next 3 to 5 years.

Ethereum ETFs also performed strongly on the day, with the nine US spot Ethereum funds collectively attracting over $383 million in inflows. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) was at the center of this momentum, bringing in more than $300 million of the total inflows and seeing its volume climb to over $800 million for two consecutive days. Other issuers like Grayscale, Fidelity, Bitwise, and VanEck also saw inflows, indicating a broader interest in cryptocurrency ETFs.

Bitcoin’s surge to $117,000 comes with only a modest rise in transaction count, showing investor confidence without heavy selling. Despite hitting new highs, Bitcoin’s network activity remains below 2023 peaks, suggesting calm holder behavior and long-term conviction. Ethereum lags in performance with a -11% YTD drop, while Bitcoin gains 24.92%, driven by strong sentiment and reduced sell pressure.

As per analyst Axel Adler Jr.’s Post on X, Bitcoin has risen 6.01% in the last day and 24.92% so far this year, hitting a new all-time high of $117,947. Over the past two days, the number of daily transactions has increased from 340,000 to 364,000. The 2023–2024 peaks, which varied between 530,000 and 666,000 transactions per day, are still exceeded by this number. No indications of widespread selling are seen, even though transaction volume is lower than in previous cycles.

Bitcoin was trading close to $20,000 in 2023, but network transactions were still below $300,000. As the price drew closer to $30,000, transactions surged to 530,000 by May. Bitcoin soared past $60,000 as activity continued to rise, reaching a peak of 666,000 in March 2024. Following that, even though the price kept growing, the number of transactions fell precipitously. The price of Bitcoin remained between $90,000 and $100,000 in early 2025, and the number of transactions remained below 400,000. In July 2025, the 30-day moving average of the number of transactions indicates a persistent downward trend, even if the asset is trading close to $118,000 itself.

According to Axel Adler Jr., the recent uptick in transaction count to 364,000 reflects calm behavior among long-term holders. There are no signs of panic or heavy coin distribution. Hence, this reinforces both fundamental and technical bullish sentiment. Moreover, this divergence suggests the current rally is not driven by speculative trades but by strong investor conviction. Besides, reduced on-chain activity may reflect the rise of custodial and layer-2 solutions. Consequently, Bitcoin’s valuation has increasingly outpaced direct usage on its base layer.

The price of Ethereum is $2,994, up 7% on a daily basis but down 11% so far this year. Bitcoin is leading the market in terms of price action and investor sentiment, while Ethereum is recovering slowly.