Bitcoin ETF Inflows: BTC-USD Holds Around $96K As IBIT ETF Drives $1.7B Re-Risking Wave

Bitcoin ETF Inflows And BTC-USD – Overview

Spot Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has just printed one of the clearest institutional demand signals of early 2026. Over the last three trading sessions, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbed roughly $1.71 billion in net new money while BTC pushed back into the $94,000–$97,000 band and briefly tested two-month highs just under $98,000. This is not a marginal bounce; it is a sharp reversal of the early-January outflow wave and it is driven primarily by large, regulated vehicles led by iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).

Three-Day, $1.7 Billion Inflow Block Into Spot Bitcoin ETFs

The flow pattern is simple and powerful. After several days of redemptions between January 6–9 that totaled roughly $1.38–$1.4 billion, ETF demand flipped. On Monday, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs moved back into positive territory with about $117 million in net inflows. On Tuesday, inflows jumped to roughly $754–$754.7 million, at that point the largest daily intake in around three months. On Wednesday, the group absorbed about $843.6–$843.62 million, the biggest single-day inflow since early October. In three sessions that adds up to roughly $1.71 billion, more than offsetting the early-January outflows. Cumulatively, spot Bitcoin ETFs now sit near $58 billion of net inflow since launch, with net assets around $128 billion, turning them into systemically relevant Bitcoin holders rather than niche wrappers.

IBIT As The Lead Vehicle For Institutional Bitcoin Demand

Inside that wave, IBIT is acting as the main institutional gateway. On Wednesday alone, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust pulled in about $648 million, more than three-quarters of the entire day’s net ETF buying. It had already been among the top recipients the day before, alongside FBTC and BITB, confirming that large allocators are clustering in the biggest, deepest product. IBIT itself trades around $54.53 per share versus a prior close of $55.44, with an intraday range of $54.11–$55.05 and a 52-week range of $42.98–$71.82. Average daily volume near 53.4 million shares shows that secondary-market liquidity is strong enough for large blocks. Behind the vehicle stands BlackRock with roughly $162.7 billion in total assets, $61.9 billion in equity and free cash flow around $1.7 billion, providing operational and balance-sheet comfort for pension funds, asset managers and private banks that are not going to custody spot coins themselves.

Cross-Asset Crypto ETF Flows In Ethereum, XRP And Solana

The ETF re-risking is not limited to Bitcoin. Spot Ethereum products added around $175 million in a single day, their third straight inflow, pushing cumulative ETH ETF inflows to about $12.74 billion and total ETF ETH assets to roughly $20.84 billion. Spot Solana ETFs took in approximately $23.5 million on the same day. Spot XRP ETFs drew around $10.6–$11 million, following $13 million the prior session, with only one outflow day (~$41 million on January 7) since launch; cumulative XRP ETF inflows stand near $1.26 billion, with net assets of about $1.56 billion. This pattern shows a coordinated allocation across multiple large-cap crypto assets, not a single-name squeeze. For BTC-USD, that broad demand confirms that regulated wrappers are becoming a structural allocation bucket for crypto, with Bitcoin as the anchor and the others as satellite exposures.

BTC-USD Price Structure Around $96,000–$100,000

Price action is tracking flows almost one-for-one. After spending much of late 2025 under $92,000, BTC-USD has reclaimed the $94,000–$97,000 range and tested highs near $97,924–$97,957 as ETF inflows accelerated. On the downside, the 100-day EMA near $96,032 is the first key support; a sustained break below there exposes $94,559, the prior short-term low, and then the 50-day EMA around $92,111. On the upside, the 200-day EMA near $99,570 is the immediate technical cap before the psychological $100,000 threshold. Momentum indicators reflect this ETF-driven grind higher: the daily RSI peaked around 68, brushing overbought territory as the three-day inflow block hit, while derivatives data shows roughly $700 million in short liquidations on the break above the recent range. That combination – net ETF buying plus forced short covering – is what has re-anchored BTC above the mid-$90,000s for now.

From Early-January Outflows To A 2026 Re-Risking Wave

The time profile of these flows matters as much as the size. Between January 6–9, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw about $1.38–$1.4 billion in redemptions as investors took profits and derisked into year-end macro and political uncertainty. Market sentiment slid back toward neutral, and a chunk of “tourist” capital exited. Three weeks later, the behavior is inverted: $1.71 billion of inflows in three days, with the bulk going into the largest, most institutionally friendly products rather than speculative fringe tickers. At the same time, macro tone has shifted – softer U.S. inflation data, less immediate fear of an aggressive tightening restart and renewed focus on Bitcoin’s role as both a growth bet and a hedge against policy and geopolitical noise. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index moving back into the low-60s (“greed”) for the first time since October is consistent with that regime shift.

JPMorgan’s Flow Lens And The Transition Toward ETF-Led Demand

JPMorgan’s capital-flow framework helps position what these ETF numbers mean in the broader digital-asset market. The bank estimates that total digital-asset inflows in 2025 reached nearly $130 billion, up roughly one-third versus 2024. More than half of that – about $68 billion – came from digital asset treasuries (DATs). Strategy alone accounted for around $23 billion in purchases, similar to its $22 billion in 2024, while other corporate and treasury buyers lifted their spending from about $8 billion in 2024 to roughly $45 billion in 2025. On top of that sat ETF flows into Bitcoin and Ethereum, plus smaller contributions from CME futures activity and venture funding. Importantly, JPMorgan notes that DAT buying slowed sharply after October and that futures-implied flows were weaker than in 2024. That means the marginal 2026 buyer is shifting away from aggressive balance-sheet accumulators and toward regulated ETF vehicles and traditional institutions. The bank expects overall inflows to rise further in 2026, helped by potential regulatory steps such as the Clarity Act and increased institutional activity around stablecoins, payment rails, exchanges, custody and infrastructure – all of which point to spot ETFs remaining the primary on-ramp for large BTC allocations.

Macro, CPI And The Sentiment Turn Back To Greed

The ETF picture is reinforced by the macro tape. A softer-than-expected U.S. CPI print on January 13 eased fears of another hawkish lurch from the Fed and nudged yields lower at the margin, reopening the door for risk assets. At the same time, escalating geopolitical tensions and domestic political uncertainty – including potential U.S. Supreme Court decisions on tariffs and trade – have pushed some allocators toward assets that combine growth optionality with a store-of-value narrative, and Bitcoin sits at the center of that intersection. The result is a synchronized move: macro data that reduces tail-risk around rates, ETF flows that visibly confirm renewed institutional appetite, and a sentiment gauge that moves from neutral back into “greed.” In that environment, tests of the $97,000–$100,000 zone are more likely to attract dip-buyers than panic sellers as long as flows stay positive.

How ETF Flows Are Turning Into Structural BTC-USD Demand

Mechanically, the recent $1.71 billion of net ETF inflows in three days translates directly into spot Bitcoin demand. Every new dollar that goes into a fully backed spot ETF must be matched by underlying BTC-USD purchases into the product’s custodied pool. With daily spot trading volumes around $60–70 billion, a multi-day, multi-hundred-million inflow is material – especially when it arrives alongside short liquidations and improving risk sentiment. Products such as IBIT, FBTC, ARKB and BITB are designed primarily for long-only, benchmark-style holding, not high-frequency trading. Once capital is inside, a significant share tends to stay parked, effectively removing that slice of Bitcoin float from immediate circulation. Layer that on top of existing HODLer balances, corporate treasuries and miners’ increasingly constrained post-halving supply and the result is a supply stack where each incremental dollar has to compete for a shrinking liquid pool. The cumulative $56–58 billion already absorbed by spot ETFs since launch is therefore not just a backward-looking statistic; it is a structural change in ownership that tightens the link between ETF flows and price.

Key Risks That Could Disrupt The Bitcoin ETF Inflow Narrative

There are real risk points that could interrupt or reverse this inflow regime. Technically, a decisive break and daily close below the 100-day EMA near $96,032, followed by sustained trading under $94,559, would encourage tactical selling and might cool ETF demand if it coincides with a macro shock. On the macro side, any upside surprise in inflation, a re-pricing toward more aggressive rate hikes or renewed stress in broader risk assets could push allocators back into cash and Treasuries, slowing ETF subscriptions. Regulatory surprises – whether around ETF fee structures, custody rules, banking capital treatment or headline-driven scrutiny – could also slow the pace at which large institutions increase exposure, even if existing assets remain largely untouched. Around the $99,570–$100,000 band, a period of heavy profit-taking and range trading would test investor patience and could temporarily disconnect inflows and spot performance. None of these risks are unusual; they are part of a maturing market where Bitcoin is now integrated into traditional portfolios instead of trading entirely on crypto-native flows.

Verdict: ETF-Driven Bitcoin Still Skews Bullish, With Dips Favored Over Fades

Taken together, the data points to a clear conclusion. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have pulled in roughly $1.71 billion in three days, with daily peaks around $843.6 million, pushing cumulative net inflows to about $58 billion and total ETF assets to roughly $128 billion. IBIT has emerged as the dominant vehicle, absorbing $648 million in a single session and anchoring institutional demand. BTC-USD is trading above $96,000, has recently tested $97,924–$97,957, and is boxed between support at the 100-day EMA (~$96,032) and resistance near the 200-day EMA (~$99,570) and the psychological $100,000 mark. Macro tone has moved from anxiety back toward cautious risk-on, while sentiment has shifted into “greed.” In that configuration, the rational stance is that ETF-driven Bitcoin still skews bullish, with short-term pullbacks into the $94,000–$96,000 area more attractive as buy-the-dip opportunities than as setups to fade the trend, as long as the ETF tapes continue to show large, broad-based inflows led by IBIT and its peers.

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