Bitcoin ETFs See $601.8 Million Inflow as Institutions Anticipate Looser Financial Conditions

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a significant surge in inflows, reaching $601.8 million on Thursday. This marked the highest single-day inflow since May, with BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC leading the charge, bringing in $224.5 million and $237.1 million, respectively. Other notable inflows included Ark Invest’s ARKB, which added $114.2 million, while Grayscale’s GBTC and Franklin Templeton’s EZBC reported no net flows.

This influx of institutional money comes as investors anticipate looser financial conditions under the expanded policies of the Trump administration. ETFs remain the primary vehicle for large-scale Bitcoin exposure, offering regulated access without the operational complexities of direct crypto ownership. According to Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Labs, the expectation of looser liquidation conditions is driving the ETF flow, as institutions increasingly favor risk-on trades and find ETFs the easiest way to gain Bitcoin exposure.

Bitcoin's price briefly topped $110,000 following Thursday's jobs report, which showed 147,000 new positions in June against 110,000 forecasts, before retreating as unemployment fell to 4.1% instead of the expected 4.3%. Despite the stronger-than-expected employment data, the market seems focused on the longer-term impact of fiscal expansion resulting from Trump's tax bill. U.S. President Donald Trump is set to sign the tax-cutting, debt ceiling-raising bill into law on Friday, Independence Day, after it passed both chambers of Congress. This bill has crypto markets on edge, with some warning it could trigger a temporary liquidity drain as the Treasury refills its General Account.

Chung noted that ETF flow data typically lags by a day or two, suggesting the $600 million figure likely reflects July 2 activity, before the tax bill passage. However, some investors may have been buying ETFs in anticipation of the bill's impact. This surge in inflows follows a significant net outflow of approximately $342 million on July 1, marking the first outflow since June 6 and interrupting a period of sustained demand that had pushed cumulative net inflows to about $49 billion and total ETF assets under management (AUM) above $131 billion. Fidelity’s FBTC led the outflows with a net withdrawal of $172.73 million, followed by Grayscale’s GBTC at $119.51 million. Ark Invest’s ARKB and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) also saw notable outflows. The biggest ETF by AUM, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), recorded zero flows for the day, neither adding nor shedding assets.

This pullback comes after a two-week run of inflows, exceeding $500 million on at least three different occasions in that period. On June 24, ETFs absorbed $588.55 million, followed by $547.72 million on June 25 and $501.27 million on June 27. All told, the surge propelled total cumulative net inflows across all U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs to a high of $48.97 billion by June 30. However, Monday’s outgoings dragged that figure back down to $48.63 billion. This latest slowdown has coincided with reports that public corporations are ramping up their Bitcoin accumulation, buying 131,000 BTC in the second quarter of 2025 to overshadow ETF inflows of 111,000 BTC in the same period. This is the third consecutive quarter in which public companies have picked up more BTC than exchange-traded funds.