Bitcoin Price Stagnates Despite 48.608 Billion ETF Inflows

Fundstrat co-founder and chief investment officer Tom Lee has identified two potential factors that may be preventing Bitcoin (BTC) from experiencing a significant price surge, despite the strong demand from spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

In a recent interview, Lee suggested that one reason could be the accumulation strategy employed by spot Bitcoin ETFs. He explained that many of these ETFs may have received in-kind exchanges, where investors transfer their crypto keys to the ETF provider, effectively stepping up their basis without necessarily pushing up the price of Bitcoin.

Lee further noted that profit-taking among early Bitcoin investors could also be a factor in suppressing the price of the largest crypto asset by market cap. He mentioned that many early investors who bought Bitcoin at much lower prices are now selling their holdings at current high prices, which could be contributing to the current price stagnation.

According to Lee, a significant portion of Bitcoin holders are sitting on huge gains, and they are likely to sell their holdings at around $100,000, which could be causing a churn in the market. He also pointed out that 95% of the institutional world does not own Bitcoin, which could be another factor contributing to the current price dynamics.

Despite the heavy demand from ETFs, which have seen $48.608 billion in net inflows since their launch in January of 2024, Bitcoin's price has remained relatively stable, trading at around $107,290 at the time of writing, which is similar to its price in December of 2024. This suggests that while there is strong demand for Bitcoin, there are also significant factors at play that are preventing it from experiencing a significant price surge.