BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Dominates Inflows While Rivals Flounder—Wall Street’s Love-Hate Affair With Crypto Continues

BlackRock’s IBIT ETF just vacuumed up more bitcoin than any competitor—proof that even Wall Street’s old guard can’t ignore crypto’s siren song. Meanwhile, other ETFs wobble as investors play hot potato with risk.

Key takeaways:

- IBIT’s inflows surge while smaller funds bleed assets—the rich get richer, even in decentralized finance.

- Mixed sentiment across the ETF space shows institutional money remains skittish—turns out ‘mooning’ isn’t an approved investment thesis.

- The cynical view? This is just hedge funds front-running the next Fed pivot—because nothing screams ‘store of value’ like trading volatility through a middleman.

Institutional Appetite Holds as BTC ETFs See $115 Million Inflows

On Thursday, net inflows into BTC ETFs totaled $114.96 million, down 64% from Wednesday’s $319.56 million. While this marked sustained institutional interest in these funds, yesterday’s figure marked a steep decline from Wednesday’s inflows, suggesting a temporary cooldown in momentum.

BlackRock’s IBIT ETF once again led the pack, recording the highest net daily inflows among its peers. The fund saw a daily net inflow of $409.72 million on Thursday, bringing its total historical net inflow to $45.42 billion.

Meanwhile, ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) had the highest net outflow among all issuers on Thursday, with $132.05 million exiting the fund. ARKB’s total historical net inflows remain at $2.57 billion as of this writing.

Futures Interest in BTC Rises Slightly

At press time, the leading coin trades at $104,007, recording a 2% price surge amid a broader market rally over the past day. During the review period, the coin’s futures open interest (OI) has risen by a modest 1%, signaling a slight uptick in Leveraged positions.

Open interest refers to the total number of outstanding futures contracts that have not yet been settled. When OI increases alongside rising prices, it indicates fresh capital entering the market and a strengthening of the current trend.

With BTC, the modest rise in its OI suggests that market participants remain somewhat cautious while bullish momentum is building. The small uptick points to limited conviction among traders, with many still adopting a “wait and see” approach.

Moreover, in the coin’s options market, there is an uptick in demand for put contracts today.

This indicates rising hedging activity and lingering bearish sentiment, which signals a lack of Optimism among BTC options traders.