Bitcoin briefly hit the $79,000 level earlier this week but has since retraced and is now trading around $77,700.
The leading cryptocurrency’s recovery above $76,000 has strengthened expectations that the asset could reclaim $80,000 in the near term.
Analysts point to rising institutional demand and improving market structure as support for further upside.
Strong ETF demand keeps BTC above $77,000
The cryptocurrency market has been trading sideways over the past few days, with Bitcoin trading below the $78,000 level on Friday.
Its recent rally has been driven in large part by strong inflows into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and continued accumulation by large corporate buyers.
Data obtained from CoinGlass shows that Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.12 billion in net inflows over five US trading days that ended April 21, signaling renewed institutional demand after months of sustained outflows.
On Thursday, the ETFs recorded an inflow of $223 million despite Bitcoin’s price still trading below $78,000. In the past month, Bitcoin funds have attracted $1.87 billion in net inflows.
While commenting on the current market conditions, Gabe Selby, Head of Research at CF Benchmarks, noted that the strong flows suggest that BTC’s recovery has been led by institutional allocators rather than short-term speculative capital.
“The sheer size of this flow profile reads this is more institutional allocator money, such as advisors and major wealth channels, as opposed to short-term retail or hedge fund basis trade flows,” Selby added.
In addition to Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin’s demand is also visible in the spot market. Michael Saylor-led Strategy purchased 34,164 BTC last week for approximately $2.54 billion.
According to Selby, these purchases have reinforced demand at levels well below Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak.
However, analysts warn that Bitcoin could encounter short-term profit-taking soon. CryptoQuant data showed that the realized price for Bitcoin ETF investors is near $76,400, close to spot prices above $78,000.
A push above these levels (to roughly $79,600) could trigger profit-taking by short-term whale holders. This group has remained in aggregate loss since November, with unrealized losses totaling roughly $4.3 billion.
Bitcoin eyes breakout to above $80,000
The BTC/USD 4-hour chart remains bearish and efficient, but a breakout above $80,000 could switch the narrative to bullish.
Bitcoin has maintained its price above the recent support of $73,789, suggesting growing retail and institutional demand.
The Relative Strength Index of 60 is above the neutral 50 but has room for growth as the market is not in the overbought region yet.
The MACD lines are also above the zero level, suggesting that the bulls remain in control.
On the upside, the bulls would face the initial resistance at the $80,979 level. A daily candle break above this would allow the leading cryptocurrency to hit the $84,391 high for the first time since January 30.
However, if the resistance level holds, sellers would likely push BTC’s price towards the Inducement Liquidity (ILQ) and Sunday low of $73,798.