Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a reversal of fortune last week, as a wave of institutional cash flooded into the market after weeks of lukewarm demand.
Over the week between April 21 and April 25, spot Bitcoin ETFs accumulated just over $3 billion in net inflows, a significant sum that dwarfed the trickle of investments the market saw in February and March.
As previously covered by CryptoSlate, each day of the week brought significant inflows, peaking on April 22 at $936.5 million. To put this in perspective, Glassnode data shows the April 22 inflow was over 500 times the average daily YTD flow. It marked the biggest one-day influx since at least November 2024, showing just how aggressive this late-April buying spree was in context.
The increase in inflows followed a sharp price rally, indicating a strong feedback loop between rising prices and demand from institutional investors. Bitcoin began the week near $87,500, already rebounding from its early-April lows, and by Friday, April 25, it approached $95,000, its highest level in about six weeks. The inflows and price gains reinforced each other: as BTC broke past key thresholds to new multi-week highs, more institutional buyers rushed in via ETFs, which in turn likely added further upward pressure on the spot market.
Importantly, the buying was broad-based, with BlackRock’s IBIT leading with huge creations, but almost all of the eleven US Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows during that week. This was a notable shift from the typical pattern where a single dominant fund attracts most of the volume. Grayscale’s GBTC kept seeing investors pulling money out to rotate into the new ETFs, reflecting a clear preference for these lower-fee, direct BTC vehicles once sentiment turned bullish.
For the better part of the past three months, Bitcoin ETFs were bleeding assets: nearly every trading day saw net withdrawals. The beginning of April was no different. By mid-April, total outflows for the month reached around $812 million, with even major ETFs like IBIT seeing substantial redemptions. The worst point came on April 8, when over $326 million was yanked out in a single day. The record outflow was caused by a sudden escalation in the US-China trade dispute, with the White House stunning the markets by announcing new tariffs on Chinese imports, triggering risk-off shockwaves.
Bitcoin ETFs were not immune to the anxiety, as investors trimmed exposure amid fears of broader market turmoil. Indeed, through early April, any positive signs were fleeting: April 2 was the lone exception with a modest $218 million inflow, but even that came amidst geopolitical headlines (a tariff announcement that day paradoxically spurred some dip-buying). Overall sentiment remained shaky until mid-month.
Multiple catalysts aligned to spark a turnaround as April progressed. Around April 12, signals emerged that the macroeconomic and political outlook was stabilizing, alleviating some of the overhanging fears. US President Donald Trump publicly assured that he had no plans to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, easing concerns about potential upheaval at the central bank. At the same time, the administration hinted at dialing back the trade war, with top officials calling the punitive tariffs “unsustainable” and suggesting a possible truce with China.
This shift in rhetoric injected a dose of optimism into global markets. Geopolitical de-escalation and central bank stability meant investors suddenly felt more confident returning to risk assets. Bitcoin, which had shown resilience even as ETFs saw outflows, responded swiftly, its price increasing back towards the $85,000-$90,000 range by mid-April. Bitcoin was rallying even as US equities wobbled, indicating a decoupling.
On April 22, the same day Bitcoin jumped roughly 7%, gold prices hit a record high above $3,400/oz, a sign of lingering investor caution. However, Bitcoin rallied in tandem with gold, not stocks. This showed Bitcoin was beginning to behave as a safe-haven asset, more akin to digital gold than a tech stock.
In short, by late April, the climate had shifted to one where risk appetite for Bitcoin was back, buttressed by an appealing narrative: Bitcoin could rise on both improved economic optimism and as a hedge against any remaining macro fears. With this favorable backdrop, institutional investors who had sat on the sidelines (or even withdrawn funds) earlier were now rushing back in, with Bitcoin ETFs becoming their vehicle of choice.
Each day from April 21 onward, chunky inflows were registered, reversing the steady bleed from weeks prior. The spree began on April 21 with about $387 million net inflow, as markets reopened from the Easter holiday with Bitcoin breaking above $87,000.
The next day was the blockbuster, with roughly $936.5 million pouring in on April 22, more than the entire first half of April combined, which helped propel BTC past $93,000. Remarkably, this one-day haul equated to about 11.5x the typical daily inflow since these ETFs launched in January 2024. It was truly an outlier event, described by Glassnode as a “significant deviation” signaling a resurgence in demand.
The momentum continued on April 23, adding another $917 million, as Bitcoin hovered just below $94,000. Even as the week went on and the initial frenzy cooled slightly, Thursday still notched roughly $442 million in inflows, and Friday, April 25, saw about $380 million more. By the end of the week, Bitcoin ETFs had collectively amassed over $3 billion.
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