In brief
- U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.19 billion in net inflows on October 6, the highest single-day total since July 10.
- BlackRock’s IBIT dominated with $970 million, becoming the asset manager’s most profitable ETF in barely 2 years since launch.
- Analysts say the surge points to institutional hedging during the U.S. government shutdown, but retail sentiment remains muted, and technical indicators suggest caution.
U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, recorded their strongest day of inflows in nearly three months on Monday, pulling in $1.19 billion amid renewed institutional confidence as Bitcoin consolidates near record highs.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) dominated the influx with $970 million, accounting for more than 81% of total inflows, while Fidelity’s FBTC contributed $112.3 million and Bitwise’s BITB added $60.1 million, according to Farside Investors data.
The surge on Monday was the highest single-day inflow since July 10, when Bitcoin ETFs attracted $1.18 billion.
Nic Puckrin, crypto analyst and co-founder of The Coin Bureau, told Decrypt the spike is “driven primarily by institutional investors playing catch-up and looking for risk-off hedges as the US government shutdown continues.”
“Bitcoin is one of the best assets in this environment—and ETFs are the easiest way for institutions to gain access—but we have also seen a big rally in gold over the past week,” he added.
Puckrin has cautioned the inflows are not “a sign of retail investor interest,” noting the “sentiment remains muted, with retail investors still sitting on the sidelines.”
The surge in inflows comes as IBIT achieves a major milestone, overtaking BlackRock’s legacy funds to become its highest revenue-generating ETF in less than 2 years.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas tweeted Monday how IBIT is “a hair away from $100 billion” in AUM after capturing $1.8 billion of last week’s $3.2 billion in total spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, the fund’s second-strongest week since launch.
Dean Chen, an analyst at Bitunix, told Decrypt the latest inflows reflect “renewed institutional confidence in Bitcoin, fueled by expectations of monetary easing and its role as an inflation hedge.”
“These inflows have strengthened Bitcoin’s liquidity profile and reinforced its position as an allocatable asset,” he added.
Yet Chen pointed to technical indicators that “signal overheating.”
RSI has spiked above 84, while large holders transferring BTC to exchanges “have hit a 30-day high, suggesting growing profit-taking pressure,” he said.
The analyst said Bitcoin faces “heavy resistance between $126,000 and $130,000,” warning “failure to hold above $123,000 could trigger a retracement toward $110,000,” also describing the market as entering “a phase of structural bullishness amid cyclical overheating.”
The world’s largest crypto is trading at $124,412, up 0.2% in the last day, as per CoinGecko.
Puckrin said inflows won’t “taper off for the next few weeks,” adding how continued price strength means “more money will flow into spot BTC ETFs,” as “Q4 is historically the most bullish quarter.”
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