Crypto Balances on Knife Edge: Treasury Demand Roars, Spot Neutral, Perps Short

Key Takeaways

• Macro: Fed futures price a -21.8 bps cut for September, with next week’s jobs report pivotal along with September 11’s CPI data. The EU has announced a willingness to remove tariffs on US industrial goods while tariff negotiations are ongoing with India.
• Institutional demand: ETF flows continue to strengthen with $81 million for Bitcoin ETFs and $307 million for Ether ETFs over the past day. ETFs, corporates, and governments are now absorbing ~3,600 BTC/day, which translates to ~4x miner issuance. Metaplanet announced a new plan to raise $881 million to buy $837 million BTC in Sep–Oct, adding to its 18,991 BTC.
• On-Chain Supply Stress: BTC trades at ~$112K, just below 1 month ($115.6K) and 3 month ($113.6K) cost bases, leaving short-term holders under stress. Key support lies at 6-month cost basis ($107K).
• Flows: Spot demand remains neutral, as perpetuals tilt bearish with CVD negative. The current funding rate of ~0.01% points to a fragile neutrality. If price breaks above $112.4K with volume, it opens the pathway to $114K – $116K, while a rejection risks another downside to $110K – $108.7K.
• Hash Rate ATH: BTC network security at record levels, which underscores miner conviction despite stressed short-term investor cohorts, with a steadily growing hashrate seen as a bullish indicator.