Bitcoin Blasts Past $111,970: Bearish Bets Fuel Epic Rally

Hang onto your hats, folks—Bitcoin just rocketed into uncharted territory, shattering its May high and leaving bears scrambling! Despite a mountain of skepticism and bearish indicators, the crypto king defied the odds, fueled by a tsunami of ETF cash, corporate buy-ins, and a macro tailwind that's got everyone talking.

On July 9, Bitcoin (BTC) shot up over 2%, soaring past its previous all-time high of $111,970. This wasn't supposed to happen—short interest had ballooned to a whopping $35 billion, and the technicals were screaming "sell!" But BTC had other plans, laughing in the face of the doubters.

This breakout is a game-changer, proving that it's the big dogs with deep pockets calling the shots now, not the retail crowd. Bitcoin's surge came amid a backdrop of hawkish labor data and plummeting rate-cut expectations, but the bulls just wouldn't be tamed.

Institutional Tsunami and Macro Tailwinds Crush Bearish Resistance

Forget about those tired old halving stories and retail FOMO—Bitcoin's rally is being driven by a new breed of capital flows that are here to stay.

It might look crazy for BTC to soar when rate-cut bets are cooling and shorts are piling up, but it's a sign of a seismic shift in the market. That $35 billion in short interest? It became rocket fuel for the rally as ETF money and corporate buying squeezed the supply, forcing bears to cover their losing bets.

The numbers don't lie: spot Bitcoin ETFs gobbled up a staggering 245,000 BTC in Q2 alone, nearly 1% of the entire supply. And it's not just the usual suspects—companies far and wide are stacking sats like there's no tomorrow. Standard Chartered's calling it a "new flow regime," with institutions absorbing three times the amount of new supply miners are putting out.

Meanwhile, the broader markets are holding strong, with the U.S. economy showing surprising resilience. June's jobs report blew past expectations, adding 147,000 jobs and dropping the unemployment rate to 4.1%.

That data sent rate-cut expectations into a tailspin, with the chance of a July cut now down to a measly 5%. But while tighter policy would normally send risk assets running for the hills, Bitcoin's marching to the beat of its own drum, being revalued as a liquidity magnet in a world starved for capital.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq joined the party on Wednesday, with the Dow tacking on 164 points, or 0.4%.

Favorable Geopolitics?

Hold up, there's more! Geopolitics threw a curveball that's giving Bitcoin an unexpected boost. On July 9, the Trump administration fired off a warning shot, slapping tariffs on six nations—30% for Algeria and Iraq, 25% for Brunei, Libya, and Moldova, and 20% for the Philippines.

This is just the latest salvo in a broader tariff war, coming on the heels of threats against Japan and South Korea. Usually, this kind of thing sends inflation soaring, supply chains into chaos, and equities tumbling. But Bitcoin? It's just chilling, like it's got a secret.

Don't get too comfy, though. CoinShares' James Butterfill warns that tariffs could slow growth and spook risk assets, including Bitcoin, at least in the short term.

And Nansen's Nicolai Sondergaard says we shouldn't read too much into the current calm. "Increased tariff announcements will likely spook the market," he says, "but traders are used to last-minute deals." The real test comes on August 1—if those tariffs kick in, Bitcoin's zen-like vibes could get shattered real quick.