Bitcoin ETFs Are Green Again—Here’s Why Investors Should Zoom Out

Summary

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted two straight weeks of net inflows for the first time since early May, taking in $75.7 million in the week ending July 17 after $197.4 million the week before. That added $273.1 million, but it barely offsets the more than $8.2 billion lost during eight consecutive weeks of outflows from mid-May to early July. Volatility remains high: one day last week saw $424.7 million withdrawn after geopolitical तनाव, before buyers returned later in the week. A key framing is that Bitcoin ETFs may resemble gold ETFs, especially GLD: both hold non-yielding stores of value whose prices depend heavily on investor sentiment. BlackRock’s IBIT briefly topped $100 billion in assets near Bitcoin’s all-time high, but Bitcoin has since fallen about half from peak levels. Citigroup also turned more cautious, cutting its 12-month Bitcoin target to $82,000 and lowering projected ETF inflows to zero. Total assets across all spot Bitcoin ETFs have fallen to $77.7 billion from over $106 billion.