Bitcoin Near $80K as Spot ETFs Log 8th Straight Inflows; BlackRock's IBIT Drives $2.02B

Bitcoin hovered near $79,520 on Thursday, up about 1.1% in the past 24 hours after briefly touching an intraday high of $80,475, as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs notched an eighth straight session of net inflows totaling $2.8 billion. Key takeaways - BlackRock’s IBIT dominated the streak, accounting for $2.02 billion — roughly 72% of the eight-day haul — according to Farside Investors. - Grayscale’s GBTC continued to bleed assets, losing $50.4 million on Wednesday alone. - Since U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs launched, cumulative net inflows across the category stand at $54.7 billion; IBIT has attracted $63.1 billion while GBTC has seen $27.6 billion in outflows. Bigger-picture flows and market action Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted a broader trend: gold and Bitcoin funds pulled about $7 billion over the past week, calling it “by far a record for a 5‑day period” and framing the move as a “debasement trade” diverting attention from AI. He also noted that IBIT’s year‑to‑date flows have finally turned positive after a long period of outflows. Trading activity has surged. Stephen Wundke, strategy and revenue director at Algoz Technologies, said weekly trading volume topped $90 billion — roughly double average levels — with Bitcoin itself accounting for just under $40 billion. He added that weekly ETF inflows of nearly $2 billion matched the previous 30 days combined, and if inflows persist through August it could be the strongest month since October 2025. Cautions on reading flows as a predictor Analysts warn against over-interpreting single-day flow figures. Tim Sun, senior researcher at HashKey, told Decrypt that tracking flows versus price since 2024 shows a positive but modest correlation (below 0.5), translating to about a 0.4% BTC price move for every $100 million of net inflows. “Using single-day ETF flows alone to predict the next trading day’s Bitcoin price yields very limited predictive power,” he said, arguing that flows are better read as trend confirmation than a leading indicator. That said, Sun emphasized that multi-day streaks matter: sustained inflows beyond five consecutive sessions typically signal genuine spot demand. He noted the current run comes after a deep pullback into the $60,000–$70,000 range and suggests increasing market acceptance of the current price band — a sign consensus may be forming around a temporary bottom. Sun set near-term resistance around $85,000. A nuanced momentum picture Daily inflows peaked at $606.3 million on August 20 and have since tapered; no single session has topped $340 million during the streak, and Wednesday’s $232.2 million was the smallest. That pattern — fresh money arriving but in smaller increments — fits a market that has just pushed past $80,000 and is contending with both trapped buyers and profit-takers. Sun’s practical test: if inflows continue while prices stall or slip slightly, it would indicate new capital is absorbing selling. Wundke offered a lower technical marker — he said a sustained BTC price above $72,000 would “give investors confidence” that pullbacks remain buying opportunities. What to watch - Whether ETF inflows keep up and at what rate. - Price behavior around the $80,000 level and resistance near $85,000. - Continued divergence between IBIT inflows and GBTC outflows, which has defined the post-launch ETF landscape. Bottom line: ETFs are still a major force in the market, funneling fresh capital into Bitcoin and helping lift prices, but analysts urge a measured reading of flow data — streaks and sustained inflows matter more than single-day figures when judging durable demand.