Bitcoin nears $71K as analysts warn futures drive the rally while spot selling rises and Winklevoss BTC transfers spark debate.
Bitcoin moved close to the $71,000 level after several days of steady momentum.
Market data shows rising trading activity across spot and derivatives markets. However, some analysts now question the strength behind the move.
Data suggests futures traders drive the rally while spot investors sell into strength. At the same time, blockchain trackers reported large BTC transfers linked to the Winklevoss twins.
Bitcoin Price Rally Near $71K Raises Market Questions
Bitcoin climbed toward the $71,000 mark during recent trading sessions.
According to CoinGecko data, BTC traded at $70,478 at the time of reporting. The crypto recorded a 3.45% gain in 24 hours. Weekly performance showed a 5.09 percent increase.
Trading activity also rose sharply across global markets. CoinGecko data placed Bitcoin’s 24 hour trading volume at more than $54 billion. The price movement drew attention across social media platforms and trading forums.
However, market observers began to question the nature of the rally. A post from IT Tech on X argued that the move may not reflect strong spot demand. The account described the price surge as a possible “trap” driven mainly by derivatives traders.
The analysis compared spot and perpetual futures trading flows.
According to the post, spot cumulative volume delta showed a net sell pressure of about $6.23 million during the rally. Meanwhile, perpetual futures positions recorded more than $759 million in buying activity.
$BTC hit 71K. That's not a rally. It's a trap.
Spot participants dumped -6.23M into this move while futures longs piled in +759M.
Left = spot. Right = perps.
CVD:
– Spot CVD: -6.23M (net selling throughout the rally)
– Perp CVD: +759.41M (futures buyers driving price)Funding… pic.twitter.com/TPSSrbOoWe
— IT Tech (@IT_Tech_PL) March 10, 2026
Futures Traders Lead BTC Move While Spot Market Sells
The data shared online suggests futures traders played a major role in the latest price push.
Perpetual futures positions increased rapidly as traders opened new long positions. This activity pushed prices higher despite weaker demand in the spot market.
IT Tech explained that spot investors appeared to sell during the rally. The negative spot cumulative volume delta indicated steady distribution as prices climbed.
Futures markets showed the opposite trend, with large long positions entering the market.
Funding rate data supported that view. The funding rate stood at about 0.0042 percent at the time of the analysis. This meant long traders paid short traders, which usually signals crowded long positioning.
Order book data also showed pressure from sellers.
Spot order books displayed about 1,100 BTC in ask side depth. Perpetual markets showed roughly 3,900 BTC on the sell side. According to the post, both markets leaned toward selling pressure while futures traders pushed prices upward.
The analyst added that the rally may remain fragile until spot demand increases. The post stated that the trend could change only when spot cumulative volume delta turns positive.
Read also: Bitcoin Turns Bearish After $70K Support Failure
Winklevoss Bitcoin Transfers Add to Market Attention
At the same time, blockchain monitoring platform Arkham reported large Bitcoin transfers tied to the Winklevoss twins. Arkham stated that wallets linked to the twins moved about $130 million worth of BTC to Gemini hot wallets.
The transfers occurred between late February and early March 2026.
Arkham tracked several on-chain transactions that showed funds moving from known addresses connected to the twins. The destination wallets belonged to the Gemini exchange infrastructure.
THE WINKLEVOSS TWINS SOLD $130M BTC
The Winklevoss Twins transferred $130M of BTC to Gemini Hot Wallets since last week, presumably to sell.
The Winklevosses once owned 1% of the circulating BTC supply – and now continue to hold $764M of BTC. Their total PnL on BTC is currently… pic.twitter.com/Pjzp45V3K7
— Arkham (@arkham) March 10, 2026
The platform suggested the transfers could indicate plans to sell the assets through the exchange. However, the report also noted that transfers to exchange wallets do not confirm a sale. Past activity sometimes involved internal custody adjustments.
The Winklevoss twins remain among the earliest institutional Bitcoin investors. They purchased about 120,000 BTC in 2013 for roughly $11 million. At one point, those holdings represented about one percent of the total Bitcoin supply.
Arkham data shows the twins now hold around 8,750 BTC. At current market prices, those holdings equal roughly $619 million. Their portfolio also includes about $145 million worth of Ethereum.
Combined crypto holdings linked to the twins stand near $764 million. Arkham estimates their total unrealized gains from Bitcoin investments at about $1.8 billion.
