Bitcoin demand falls as price rises to $83,000
Bitcoin (BTC)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
digitaltoday.co.kr reports that Bitcoin's estimated total demand has deteriorated over the past 30 days, dropping to minus 171,000 BTC. On September 28, analyst Darkfost from CryptoQuant noted that the demand base is weakening rather than improving. This figure combines spot and futures market demand, with futures demand plunging from 164,000 BTC to just 3,000 BTC.
Spot demand remained negative at minus 174,000 BTC despite firm inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs. Over the last 15 days, Bitcoin rose approximately 13 percent, climbing from $74,000 to the $83,000 range. Despite this price increase, the estimated demand figure continued to fall throughout the same period.
Darkfost stated there is no sign of demand improving, pointing to a widening gap between price and demand indicators. This divergence suggests that the recent rally is not supported by a recovery in underlying demand. The sharp drop in futures demand indicates that short-term speculative money has cooled rapidly. Ultimately, the analysis shows that supply-demand conditions are moving in a different direction than price moves.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for BTC, measured when this story was written up on 29 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Bitcoin is trading at $83,500.01 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 64.0%, indicating strong short-term buying pressure. However, this momentum fades over longer timeframes, with the 4-hour buy ratio at 48.0% and the 24-hour ratio at 45.4%. The 1-hour volume delta is positive at $20,800,270, but the 24-hour delta is negative at -$162,080,405. This means that while buyers are aggressive in the immediate hour, sellers have dominated the volume over the last day. The cumulative volume delta for the 24-hour close is -$109,254,508, confirming net selling pressure. Net buying occurred for only 8 of the last 24 hours.
The latest daily buy ratio of 46.7% sits at the 18th percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 49.2% - weaker buying than most days.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for BTC, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
The current 24-hour buy ratio of 45.4% is slightly below the 7-day average of 47.9%, showing a minor decline in buying interest. Trading volume is 1.11 times the average, indicating higher activity than usual for this period. Compared to the preceding week, where net buying occurred for only 1 of 7 days, today's mixed signals reflect a continuation of low buying consistency. The 8-day price change of -3.6% and a total volume delta of -$600,343,647 highlight a broader downtrend. This suggests that despite the current price level, the weekly trend remains dominated by net outflows.