Recently, over 106,000 BTC was deposited into Binance on April 21, accompanied by another 130,000 BTC into OKX. Such volumes haven’t been observed since the last bear market, according to on-chain analyst Darkfost.

The context is crucial since Bitcoin has stagnated for nearly three months, suggesting that the market is reaching a tipping point where patience may be wearing thin.

What Do These Exchange Inflows Indicate?

For reference, Binance records an average of about 44,000 BTC in daily deposits, while OKX sees around 74,000. The recent inflows exceeded those numbers significantly, indicating a potential shift in selling behavior.

Darkfost noted that when users decide to sell on an exchange, their Bitcoin typically first goes to a deposit address before moving to the exchange’s operational wallet. Thus, this spike is a critical indicator of sell-off preparations by holders.

Furthermore, Darkfost expressed that traders are caught between hope for a new upward trend and fear of further downturns in prices.

“In this environment, even minor price fluctuations are enough to rapidly shift market sentiment from extreme fear to strong optimism, while the broader short-term trend remains unchanged.”

In the same vein, Darkfost suggested that long-term consolidation might be exhausting the market.

Looking at derivatives data from this period, it indicated that over 112,000 traders experienced losses, amounting to around $277 million. The biggest loss recorded was a $6.43 million Bitcoin position.

Geopolitical Pressure on Bitcoin

This plateauing of Bitcoin hasn’t occurred in isolation as the cryptocurrency has moved in tandem with geopolitical events. Prices oscillated from below $70,500 to $75,000 during ceasefire negotiations around April 14, temporarily peaking at $76,000 before moving to a stable range between $73,500 and $75,600 as tensions flared again in the region.

Currently, Bitcoin trades above $76,000, with a gain of over 2% in the last week, and surges of more than 11% over two weeks. However, it still remains nearly 13% below its year-ago position and around 40% off its all-time peak of over $126,000 reached in October 2025.