Institutions are no longer waiting; BlackRock's single-day purchases exceeded 500 million dollars, and Bitcoin's surge towards 80,000 has retreated.

Written by: Boaz Sobrado

Translated by: AididiaoJP, Foresight News

Bitcoin's price has experienced a rapid rise and fall over the past week. Starting from below 63,000 dollars, the five-day rally nearly touched the 80,000 dollar mark but faced significant resistance around 79,500 dollars, leading to a subsequent retreat to oscillate around 76,000 dollars.

The analyst account darlene.net posted on August 22, stating, "Bitcoin was rejected at 79,500 dollars; we nearly touched 80,000 dollars. There are a lot of sell orders piled up there, but the market will gradually eat through them and continue to push upwards." This phrase reflects the core expectation of the bulls: as long as the buying pressure continues, the selling pressure above will eventually be absorbed.

Meanwhile, funding news brought more direct benefits. Analyst Ted Pillows pointed out on the same day: "ETFs bought 1.92 billion dollars worth of Bitcoin this week. This is the largest single-week inflow since October 2025." Data from Farside Investors shows that inflows peaked at 606 million dollars on Thursday that week, with a full 503 million dollars coming from BlackRock's IBIT. The concentrated entry of institutional funds has become the strongest support for this rebound.

Institutions are not waiting

BlackRock's buying pace is particularly eye-catching. The account @nikonchain posted: "BlackRock's clients accumulated over 500 million dollars in Bitcoin in just one day." This figure stands out in contrast to the net outflow of 385 million dollars over several trading days in mid-August. Market sentiment quickly reversed — "Institutions are not waiting."

Bruno Caratori, co-founder of Hashdex, further explained this phenomenon's underlying logic in the podcast "On The Margin": "Asset management firms and ETF issuers have been around for a long time. People in the U.S. are familiar with names like Fidelity, Vanguard, and BlackRock, among others." In his view, the traditional financial institutions' need to allocate to Bitcoin is not a passing fancy but a continuation of a long-term trend.

The account @IgnacioAFCMO provided more detailed data: "Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows of 517.19 million dollars on Wednesday, the largest single-day inflow in three and a half months. Eight out of twelve ETFs recorded positive inflows, with BlackRock's IBIT alone contributing 284.7 million dollars." This wave of inflows coincided with a short squeeze just three days later when Anthony Scaramucci was still publicly looking toward 100,000 dollars. "Real money came in exactly when shorts were forced to cover. Such timing is rarely a coincidence." The precise entry of institutional funds has led the market to begin reassessing the potential upside.

Support now at 75,000 dollars

However, the rising process has not been smooth. The tracking account Alerting.Guru reported that Bitcoin quickly fell from 79,500 dollars to about 77,000 dollars, with approximately 550 million dollars in leveraged crypto positions liquidated within just 60 minutes. The total amount liquidated over 24 hours reached 1.8 billion dollars, involving over 286,000 traders. darlene.net later commented: "This is already the third wave of large-scale liquidations." The rapid liquidation of high-leverage longs has significantly increased market volatility.

The trading account CRYPTID.Crypto looked at this pullback from another angle: "Some profit-taking has already occurred, which is a good thing; we may see accumulation before the next round of increases." Previously, Polymarket traders assigned an 80% probability to reach 80,000 dollars, and the market's expectation for the round number has not completely faded due to the pullback. "Support is now at 75,000 dollars." This assessment has become a key observation point for most traders.

The buyer at 79,000 dollars

As retail sentiment heats up, some seasoned traders are starting to remain cautious. An anonymous trader named Simba posted a clear statement: "Everyone is celebrating 79,000 dollars; I'm doing the exact opposite." He directly rebutted the enthusiasm of some retail investors who set their targets at 126,000 dollars, adding, "Once retail increases again, I start to pay attention. I don't have a bearish outlook on Bitcoin long-term; I just don't want to be the buyer at 79,000 dollars." "Let others chase the FOMO. I'll wait for genuine bloodshed to start adding long positions." This cautious attitude reflects the concerns of some funds regarding short-term overheating.

Transform Group founder Michael Terpin offered a longer-term observation from the perspective of large investors in the podcast "On The Margin": "They tend to buy late. They usually come back to buy about four to six weeks after the bottom because they are still hoping for lower prices and don't want to be crushed." Large investors' entry timing often lags behind market sentiment, which also explains why some institutions are still on the sidelines.

I'll be satisfied with 80,000 dollars

Terpin further described the psychology of investors who bought at highs: "They don't want to be the bag holders for newcomers who panic buy at the highs." He simulated the bargaining of such funds during a downturn: "I'll be satisfied with 80,000 dollars, but then suddenly it dips to 60,000, and then rebounds to 70,000. They think, my god, I sold at 70,000, thank goodness I only lost 30%." This repeated psychological game often leads to more drastic fluctuations near key round numbers in the market.

Caratori provided another dimension of data when discussing his fund: "At the highest price, our assets under management approached 1.7 billion dollars; of course, assets under management fluctuate with prices." However, he places more importance on the number of Bitcoins themselves: "In terms of Bitcoin quantity, our assets under management are still at historical highs." This means that even if there is a pullback in dollar terms, the actual Bitcoin held by institutions has not decreased, and the long-term allocation intention remains solid.

Finally, darlene.net once again emphasized the potential fuel above: "There are billions of dollars in short positions waiting to be liquidated above 80,000 dollars." If ETF buying can continue to absorb the wall of sell orders around 79,500 dollars, these short positions being forced to close could likely become a key force driving the price further upwards.

The current market is in a complex interplay of institutional buying against technical resistance, short-term profit-taking against long-term allocation intent. The continued entry of giants like BlackRock has transformed the 80,000 dollar mark from a "distant target" into a "readily achievable" reality test. Moving forward, whether funds can truly absorb the overhead selling pressure will be a core variable determining the next phase of Bitcoin's trajectory.