Bitcoin

<h2 id="bitcoin-news">Bitcoin News</h2>U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have seen sustained outflows since October 2025, but cumulative net inflows across all approved products still total approximately $53 billion, <a href="https://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/2024467802816405519" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">according</a> to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. That figure peaked at $63 billion in October before declining alongside Bitcoin's price retreat from its all-time high above $126,000. Balchunas shared the data on X alongside figures compiled by fellow analyst James Seyffart, describing the result as a net positive of $53 billion generated in under two years.When U.S. spot <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin</a> ETFs were approved in early 2024, Bloomberg's own projections put expected inflows at between $5 billion and $15 billion over the same period. The $53 billion outcome is more than three times the top of that range, making the product category one of the most successful ETF launches in U.S. market history by any measure of early asset accumulation. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust set a specific record, becoming the fastest ETF ever to surpass $70 billion in assets under management, reaching that mark in under a year.Bitcoin climbed to new all-time highs ahead of its April 2024 halving, breaking with historical patterns that had previously placed major price moves after rather than before the supply reduction event. ETF inflows accelerated through 2025 and peaked in October as<a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Bitcoin </a>pushed above $126,000. Since then, Bitcoin has declined roughly 47%, trading near $66,500 as of Thursday, after falling as low as approximately $60,000 during a sell-off in late January and early February 2026.Despite that drawdown, outflows from spot <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin</a> ETFs have been proportionally smaller than the price decline, suggesting that a portion of institutional investors have chosen to hold rather than exit. That behavior has led some analysts to argue the ETF structure has introduced a different type of investor into the Bitcoin market, one with a longer holding horizon than the retail traders who dominated earlier cycles.Bitwise analysts Matt Hougan and Ryan Rasmussen have argued that Bitcoin may be departing from its four-year cycle pattern due to the scale of institutional participation now entering the market. They noted that major wealth management platforms, including Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, have expanded client access to<a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Bitcoin </a>products, and that this pipeline of capital is likely to grow through 2026. Their view positions current weakness as a pause within a longer structural trend rather than a cycle top.Other analysts disagree, contending that the 2025 bull run followed the same four-year rhythm as prior cycles and has now run its course. A separate perspective holds that the cycle is simply stretching rather than ending, shaped by a longer business cycle and shifting macroeconomic conditions. Crypto market maker Wintermute observed that despite strong institutional flows through ETFs, Bitcoin lost retail attention through 2025 as investors moved toward other high-growth sectors.Standard Chartered has identified $50,000 as a possible near-term destination before any recovery, while CryptoQuant places the cycle's floor at $55,000. Whether the $53 billion in net ETF inflows holds as a signal of institutional commitment through further price weakness, or whether additional outflows follow a continued decline, will be a key variable in assessing Bitcoin's trajectory through the remainder of 2026.

Bitcoin ETFs Retain $53B Net Inflows Despite Heavy Outflows, Bloomberg Reports

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