Bitcoin Price: June closes barely above 2017 high, Coinbase premium reverses

June 2022 has just ended, with Bitcoin (BTC) closing below $20,000, a last-minute rally that allowed bulls to escape a 40% monthly loss.

BTC/USD 1-hour candlestick chart (Bitstamp) source TradingView

Analyst: Bitcoin Could Be 'Boring' for Months

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD surging at the monthly close, with BTC/USD at $19,924 on Bitstamp.

On this basis, the trading pair barely surpassed its first monthly close below the all-time highs set during the previous halving. In November 2017, the price of Bitcoin reached $19,770 on Bitstamp.

Still, Bitcoin posted its worst monthly loss since September 2011, falling about 37.3% for the month.

"Solidly digging a cycle bottom here," concluded Philip Swift, an analyst at trading platform Decentrader, in Twitter comments after the close.

The weakness in bitcoin comes amid a dismal performance in U.S. stocks. Commentators pointed out that the second quarter of 2022 is the worst quarter for the S&P 500 since 1970, and the worst quarter for the Nasdaq in the first half of the year since 1998.

“Adjusted for inflation, in the first half of 2022, the S&P 500 is down 25-26%, the Nasdaq is down 34-35%, and Bitcoin is down 64-65%,” echoed big short investor Michael J. Burry.

Burry had previously predicted that U.S. monetary policy would be forced to change direction by the end of the year. The current goal of US monetary policy is to fight inflation by raising interest rates.

Blockware principal analyst William Clemente told Twitter followers: "Bottom/accumulation signs everywhere, major funds/lenders going bankrupt, worst quarter ever, Nocoiner trolls bashing us, the whole timeline is showing this The situation is different this time.”

"If there is a range suitable for accumulating bitcoin, the market may still experience months of boredom and capitulation."

BTC/USD monthly return chart. Source: Coinglass

Coinbase Pro buyers up, data shows

Among institutional investors, however, there is new evidence that Bitcoin is a “buy” at $20,000.

As noted by on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, the “Coinbase Premium” returned to positive territory for the first time in two months on June 30.

The premium refers to the difference between the price of bitcoin on the Binance exchange and Coinbase Pro, which is owned by U.S. exchange Coinbase.

When the premium is positive, it means investors are paying more on Coinbase Pro, indicating rising demand. As of June 30, the premium was 0.217.

Coinbase Premium vs. BTC/USD Chart Source: CryptoQuant

Ju Ki Young, CEO of CryptoQuant, commented on the data: "This rise does not signal a bull market, but clearly, it tells us that there are institutional buyers in this price range."