Bitcoin (BTC) price is experiencing a “near-term sell-side relief” as it marched through$65,000, according to onchain data from Glassnode. 

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView reveals that in the ongoing recovery, the price of Bitcoin has rallied more than 20% from a low of $56,616 on Friday, July 12, to an intraday high of $65,210 on July 16, which Glassnode attributes to “complete exhaustion of the German government sell-side pressure.”

According to the market intelligence firm, large entities, including miners and institutions, have historically been primary sources of sell-side pressure. The recent drawdown in Bitcoin price to $53,000 has largely been attributed to expected repayments by the defunct Japan-based crypto exchange Mt. Gox and BTC sales by the German government.

“Increasing our focus on the German Government sell pressure, we can see their 48.8k BTC balance was depleted over just a few weeks. The majority was distributed over a very short window between July 7 and July 10, where over 39.8k BTC flowed out of labeled wallets.”
German government BTC balance. Source: Glassnode

The Glassnode report noted that most of the selling by the German government occurred after Bitcoin price had dropped to around $54,000 and did not fall further. This suggests that the market had already priced in the selling.

According to Glassnode, a sustained period of inflows across all ETFs over the last few days has also contributed to the relief in Bitcoin markets.

The sell-off to $54,000 that saw BTC price drop below the average inflow cost basis of ETF holders—currently at $58,200—coincided with the 200-day moving average. “The ETFs have seen their first significant tranche of positive interest since early June, with over $1B in total inflows last week alone,” the report noted.

US spot Bitcoin ETF flows. Source: Glassnode

This is corroborated by data from CoinShares, which shows that Bitcoin investment products saw the fifth-largest weekly inflows on record, logging $1.347 billion in inflows between July 8 and July 12.

Similarly, data from SoSo Value reveals that spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen seven consecutive net inflows, with more than $300 million flowing into 11 ETFs in the US on July 15.

Total spot Bitcoin ETF net inflow. Source: SoSo Value

Strong institutional demand over the last week appears to have counteracted the supply from the German government, leading to a rebound in Bitcoin’s price.

Related: Bitcoin back above $65K as traders shake off Mt. Gox BTC transfers

Also contributing to the easing of sell-side pressure was the “marked decline in exchange flows.” According to Glassnode, exchange flows—volumes deposited and withdrawn from exchanges—tend to be an important gauge for investor interest and market liquidity.

The chart below shows that exchange flows have declined significantly since the all-time high set in March, with BTC volumes finding a stable baseline of about $1.5 billion a day.

Bitcoin exchange inflow and outflow volumes. Source: Glassnode

Declining Bitcoin exchange flows are an indication that the selling pressure is decreasing.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.