U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbed 13,300 BTC in net inflows last week while institutional sellers like Strategy created downward pressure, keeping price gains capped.
Macro & Markets ·
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged their strongest week since April, pulling in $865.3 million and acquiring 13,300 BTC across five consecutive sessions. BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity's FBTC dominated the inflow activity, while ether-focused products added $243.7 million, signaling demand extending beyond Bitcoin alone. The inflow volume more than quadrupled the roughly 3,150 BTC the network created during the same span.
Yet institutional buyers faced opposing forces. Strategy disclosed a 1,638 BTC sale for roughly $104.7 million, executed at an average price near $63,957 and designated for preferred dividends and share repurchases. Beyond this single transaction, on-chain data revealed an estimated 1.79 million BTC held by investors with cost bases between $62,000 and $65,000, creating a structural supply ceiling that limited upside momentum. Bitcoin advanced just over 2% for the week despite the S&P 500 climbing 3.58%, reflecting how persistent selling pressure constrained gains.
The macro environment remained split. Softer labor data—July payrolls declined by 23,000, unemployment rose to 4.1%, and the three-month job gain average fell to about 20,000—eased Federal Reserve rate-hike expectations to 43.9% for September. Treasury yields and the dollar weakened, though the 30-year yield remained above 5.2% amid lingering inflation and fiscal concerns. Whether ETF demand proves resilient enough to clear the $62,000–$65,000 supply band hinges on sustained inflows and any further easing of longer-term borrowing costs.