American investment firm Pantera Capital reports that institutional inflows, described as "smart money," are helping drive bitcoin's price higher following a recent market rebound.
In a CNBC interview, Pantera Capital portfolio manager Cosmo Jiang stated that market positioning is reversing as participants shift from the sidelines and net short positions to establishing long positions. Jiang noted that bitcoin's next resistance level could be around $80,000, and pointed to real fundamentals supporting the price recovery.
Bitcoin recently traded at $77,412 after surging more than 23% over the week, touching a high of $79,319. The cryptocurrency spent June and July mostly trading below $65,000.
The recent surge followed positive regulatory developments in the United States. President Donald Trump met with cryptocurrency executives and urged lawmakers to pass the Clarity Act, legislation designed to clarify whether digital assets fall under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. A vote on the proposed law is scheduled for September.
Additionally, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the department would at least double the size of its long-dated bond buybacks, prompting gains in non-yielding assets such as bitcoin and gold.
Jiang also highlighted broader fundamentals supporting the asset class, including stablecoin adoption, prediction markets, perpetual futures, and artificial intelligence integration.
