Bitcoin Falls Past $84K – But There's Still Buying...
Bitcoin is falling, but buyers havent disappeared.
That contradiction is what makes the current selloff interesting.
BTC slipped from Tuesdays close near $85,546 to around $83,224 on October 7, an intraday low near $82,900, nearly a 2.7% decline from the previous closing price.
It wasnt the collapse we feared, but enough of a blow to trigger a big leverage flush.
The Leverage Cascade
Leverage turned what should have been a small decline into something larger.
CoinGlass-based figures put 24 hour crypto liquidations on the order of $550 million, with the overwhelming majority coming from long positions. One estimate showed about 90.5% of BTC liquidations were longs. Ethereum accounted for another $174 million.
The important nuance is that open interest barely dropped, which means leverage isnt entirely out of the system.
It turns out to simply be a flush, not a reset.
The Bitcoin ETF Contradiction
Here's where the story gets interesting.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $118.8 million in net inflows on October 6, with BlackRock's IBIT contributing about $122 million.
While BTC was preparing for a further leg down.
From September 30 through October 6, Bitcoin ETFs were still net positive by roughly $172.9 million.
Why isn't Bitcoin rising in light of that demand?
Well, spot ETFs have a relatively small footprint, about $31.3 billion, while futures volume reached approximately $182.9 billion in spot volume on October 6 for instance.
So $119 million in ETF inflows is a nice demand signal, but not much to offset billions in daily trading activity and forced liquidations.
BTC vs ETH: A Divergence
Ethereum provides a good contrast.
On October 6:
BTC ETFs: +$118.8M
ETH ETFs: -$201.9M
ETH also fell roughly 4.7%, compared with BTCs 2.7% on the day.
Across Sept 30-Oct 6, BTC ETFs recorded about +$172.9M, while ETH ETFs suffered approximately -$373.2M.
So the institutional crowd is buying Bitcoin while reducing their ETH exposure, at least for now.
Macro Is Fueling It
The selloff didnt happen in a vacuum either.
Brent crude moved back above $100, the dollar pushed toward the 102+ area, and the 10-year Treasury yield moved above 5.3% in reported market data.
The Federal Reserve also raised rates by 25 basis points at its most recent meeting.
The chain of cause-effect goes like this: higher oil -> higher inflation risk -> higher yields -> a stronger dollar -> pressure on risk assets.
And with the next Fed minutes still to come, macro remains one of the biggest volatility catalysts.
So Who Is Buying?
There is still evidence that buyers havent disappeared, per se.
Bitcoin ETFs are still net positive over the last few weeks, Robinhood crypto chief reportedly said the company added approximately $25 million of BTC to its own balance sheet and so forth.
But those are small buys compared to the overall market turnover, which is the key nuance to consider.
Institutional demand is present but not enough to control short term price action.
What Happens Next?
The levels are all set.
$82.6K–$83.3K: immediate support zone
$85.5K: first recovery level
$87K–$87.3K: a major resistance
$75K: a deeper support should the current range fail
A bigger decline past roughly $82K while ETF flows shrink and leverage is flushed again will give the bears more reason to sing.
A move back above $85.5K–$87K while the ETF inflows persist would instead argue the selloff was more of a leveraged squeeze.
The Bottom Line
Bitcoin isn't just falling because institutions have stopped buying, which is more evidence of macro pressure + leveraged longs + insufficient spot demand to absorb the short term selling.
ETF demand is indeed there, but it appears to offer support rather than a floor, and that makes the next few days all the more tense... watch $82K, watch the Treasury yields, watch the oil and most importantly, dont mistake one day of ETF inflows as proof that Bitcoin has already found its bottom.
Not financial advice. Do your own research.
