Retail Investors Still Bullish on Bitcoin (BTC) Ahead of FOMC Meeting

Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency market have seen a noticeable boom following the release of the latest US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, and now all eyes are on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting tonight.

Bitcoin and Ethereum posted gains of 3.4% and 2.43% over the past 24 hours, respectively. The cryptocurrency market remains uncertain, with Bitcoin hovering around $70,000, Ethereum struggling to surpass $4,000, and investors treading cautiously. However, there has been a noticeable shift in market sentiment, especially among retail traders on Binance.

Long positions for individual investors

According to the latest Hyblock the findings, 70.25% of accounts on cryptocurrency exchange Binance hold net long positions in Bitcoin, a significant increase from 57% just 24 hours ago. This essentially indicates that retail investors are increasingly trying to “buy the bottom,” showing strong belief in a potential recovery ahead of the FOMC meeting.

“We are down a bit, but retail still favors long positions. 70.25% of accounts on Binance are currently in a long grid on BTC. Just 24 hours ago, this percentage was 57%. In other words, they continue to try to buy the bottom.”

It is important to note that this behavior by retail investors comes amid outflows from ETFs, indicating investor caution before the event occurs.

Data compiled by Farside revealed that Grayscale's GBTC saw the largest net outflows at $121 million. Closely followed by ARKB's ARK Invest, which saw $65.5 million, and BITB's Bitwise with $11.7 million in outflows.

Next were Fidelity's FBTC with $7.4 million and VanEck's HODL with outflows of $3.8 million. Meanwhile, BlackRock's IBIT recorded no activity on Tuesday. However, the latest wave of outflows ended a 19-day streak of net outflows for US 11-point Bitcoin ETFs, with outflows totaling nearly $65 million the previous day.

Bitcoin Bullish on Optimistic CPI

Lower inflation numbers are expected to boost the cryptocurrency market, which has remained in a limited range for weeks. In May, the CPI remained essentially unchanged, exceeding the previously estimated increase of 0.1% and declining from 0.3% in April. On an annual basis, the CPI rose by 3.3%, slightly below expectations and the 3.4% in April.

The recent price action and retail long position may also mean that BTC has already priced in the latest CPI data and the upcoming Fed decision.

like described By Mike Alfred, IREN Board Member Bitcoin is a “highly intelligent global macro asset” that potentially anticipates and integrates key economic factors long before they are released.

Charlie Belillo, Chief Market Strategist at Creative Planning, chirp,

“Overall, the US CPI fell to 3.27% year-on-year in May from 3.36% in April. US inflation has now remained above 3% for 38 straight months. Core CPI (excluding food and energy) fell ) in the United States to 3.41% on an annual basis from 3.62% last month. This is the lowest core inflation reading since April 2021.