Bitcoin ETF Inflows Jump $152 Million as BTC-USD Stabilizes at $93K — IBIT ETF at $53

Bitcoin ETF Inflows Surge $152 Million as BTC-USD Holds $93,700 — BlackRock’s IBIT Leads Market Reset Before Fed Decision

ETF Demand Rebounds Sharply as Institutions Rotate Back Into Bitcoin Exposure

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) trades at $93,704.53 (+0.73%), stabilizing after testing $95,000 earlier this week as institutional capital floods back into spot ETFs. U.S. Bitcoin funds recorded $152 million in net inflows on December 9, marking one of the strongest single-day turnarounds of Q4. The move reflects renewed investor confidence after several sessions of redemptions and coincides with a broader shift in leverage and risk appetite ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final policy decision of 2025.
Data from SoSoValue and Farside Investors confirms that Fidelity’s FBTC ETF led inflows with $199 million, while BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT) — priced at $53.03 (+0.34%) with a market cap of $168.88 billion — absorbed $135 million in outflows, signaling rotational repositioning rather than indiscriminate buying. Grayscale’s GBTC ended positive for the first time in a week with $33.8 million in net inflows, showing that institutional sentiment has shifted from defensive to opportunistic positioning.

Across the ETF sector, Ethereum ETFs added $178 million, and Solana funds gained $16.5 million, led by Bitwise’s BSOL ETF ($7.8M), showing that the current rally extends beyond Bitcoin into broader crypto diversification. Still, Bitcoin remains the primary liquidity anchor, holding 67% of total ETF market share across U.S. exchanges.

IBIT (NASDAQ:IBIT) Leads Market Liquidity as Spot Trading Accelerates

IBIT ETF, trading between $51.96 and $53.66, continues to dominate daily turnover with an average volume of 69.5 million shares. Despite temporary outflows, the fund retains $168.88 billion in AUM, nearly 1.4x larger than all competing Bitcoin ETFs combined. Analysts note that IBIT’s outflows largely stem from institutional rotation into cheaper or newly launched ETF classes, rather than sentiment deterioration.
Its year-to-date performance shows a 23% gain, in line with BTC’s spot performance, indicating accurate NAV tracking and minimal slippage. Since its January debut, IBIT has accumulated over 570,000 BTC, equivalent to $53.4 billion in direct Bitcoin holdings. Institutional allocators — including BlackRock’s managed retirement accounts and UBS’s structured ETF channels — continue to treat IBIT as the benchmark exposure vehicle.

Meanwhile, Fidelity’s FBTC now holds $39.8 billion AUM, closing the gap on IBIT amid aggressive inflow streaks. ARK 21Shares (ARKB) and Bitwise’s BITB maintain smaller but consistent flows, capturing retail-driven momentum. Combined, the top five Bitcoin ETFs hold over $120 billion in BTC assets, representing nearly 12% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply — a structural shift in liquidity distribution unseen before 2024.

Retail Capitulation Meets Institutional Accumulation

On-chain behavior supports the ETF rotation narrative. Glassnode data shows exchange balances falling by 34,000 BTC in the past week, while whale wallets (>10,000 BTC) accumulated +1.6% more holdings, reaching levels last seen before the March 2024 rally. Retail traders, by contrast, continue to sell into strength, creating a redistribution cycle typical of mid-bull phases.
Coinbase Institutional reported that speculative leverage is now half of Q2 2025 peaks, with its systemic leverage ratio stabilizing near 4%–5% of total market cap, down from 10% during the summer surge. That normalization reduces liquidation risk and enhances price stability around $92,000–$94,000, even as funding rates remain neutral.

CoinGlass data shows $317 million in short liquidations over the last 24 hours, clearing speculative positioning ahead of the FOMC meeting. The clean-up aligns with historical cycles: six of seven Fed meetings in 2025 triggered 6%–29% BTC intraday swings, followed by rebounds once uncertainty cleared.

Technical Setup: Range Consolidation Between $91,000 and $95,000

The BTC-USD chart shows tight compression between $91,000 and $95,000, forming a textbook ascending triangle with declining volatility. The RSI sits near 48, reflecting neutral momentum, while the MACD line flattens near equilibrium. The 20-day EMA ($91,035) and 50-day SMA ($90,755) act as short-term supports, while longer-term averages — 100-day SMA ($98,600) and 200-day SMA ($108,939) — remain downward sloping, confirming resistance clusters near $95,000–$97,000.
Price action indicates exhaustion rather than reversal. Volume has declined 18% week-over-week, consistent with consolidation phases before major directional breaks. The four-hour structure highlights a double-bottom formation between $83,814 and $94,652, suggesting potential for a continuation rally if volume re-expands beyond $93,500.

If BTC-USD clears $95,000 with confirmation, targets move toward $98,800 and $106,000, areas identified by CME futures gap alignment and on-chain realized value clusters. A breakdown below $90,000 would reopen the $85,000–$88,000 support corridor, last defended by institutional demand in early November.

Macro Backdrop: Fed Cut Probability at 89% and Market Positioning Ahead of Powell

The Federal Reserve’s final 2025 meeting dominates short-term risk. Futures markets price in an 87–89% chance of a 25 bps rate cut, lowering the policy range to 3.50%–3.75%. Analysts agree the cut is largely priced in; however, Powell’s forward guidance on 2026 will determine whether ETF inflows evolve into a sustained uptrend or fade into post-event profit-taking.
K33 Research notes that pre-FOMC confidence levels are the lowest of 2025, with CME futures open interest volatility collapsing to 0.34%, historically preceding significant post-decision moves. Options skews show record-high put premiums — the strongest downside protection demand since 2022 — suggesting traders remain defensive.

A dovish Powell could reprice expectations toward $96,000–$106,000, while a neutral or hawkish message risks retracement toward $85,000–$88,000. QCP Capital reported that Asian desks remain “calm but cautious,” noting that ETF inflows of $152 million followed $1.1 billion in November redemptions, marking the first net positive weekly reading in over a month.

Comparative Flows: Ethereum, Solana, and Cross-Asset Rotation

While Bitcoin ETFs regained momentum, Ethereum ETFs recorded $178 million in inflows, overtaking BTC products for the first time in six weeks. Solana ETFs added $16.5 million, while XRP ETFs brought in $8.7 million, confirming a broad crypto rotation. Analysts attribute the shift to institutional portfolio balancing, as fund managers diversify exposure after Bitcoin’s dominance reached 54% of total crypto ETF AUM.
This rotation is constructive for Bitcoin indirectly — reduced correlation volatility improves ETF stability and long-term liquidity resilience. Historically, every 1% increase in non-Bitcoin ETF market share has preceded a 2.3% rise in BTC inflows within 10 days, according to aggregated SoSoValue flow models.

Market Microstructure: Leverage Reset and Institutional Re-Entry Phase

The current environment mirrors late 2023 accumulation conditions. Spot trading volumes surged 17% on December 9, reaching $3.14 billion across ETF channels, while aggregate AUM stabilized at $118.5 billion. The pattern shows institutional re-entry after a controlled deleveraging phase.
Whale accumulation data shows addresses between 1,000–10,000 BTC increasing holdings by 3.4% since November 28, confirming structural demand even as smaller traders reduce exposure. The MVRV ratio, currently 1.58, indicates mild undervaluation — a level historically associated with accumulation windows rather than distribution tops.

Broader Sentiment: Retail Exhaustion Meets Structural Expansion

Retail disengagement remains visible. Google search trends for “Bitcoin ETF” fell 41% month-over-month, even as inflows rebounded. This divergence typically signals institutional control of price discovery — similar to early 2024 when BTC rose 42% before retail participation returned. Analysts see this as a positive sign for market health.
ETF penetration into major U.S. wirehouses continues to expand. Platforms including Morgan Stanley, UBS, Wells Fargo, and Merrill Lynch opened access to crypto ETF allocations during H2 2025, unlocking “trillions of dollars of managed capital,” according to Bitwise CIO Matthew Hougan. This structural adoption ensures consistent long-term inflows regardless of short-term volatility.

Verdict: Buy / Bullish Bias

BTC-USD consolidates near $93,700 under conditions of strong ETF inflows, declining leverage, and favorable macro positioning. Institutional buying through IBIT (NASDAQ:IBIT) and FBTC continues to underpin support above $91,000.
As ETF demand stabilizes and the Fed approaches policy easing, Bitcoin’s structural tailwinds remain intact.

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