Bitcoin (BTC) Price: Institutions Pour $1.42B Into ETFs in Strongest Week in Three Months

TLDR

• Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.42 billion in net inflows over the past week, marking the strongest performance since early October.
• Wednesday saw the largest single-day inflow of $844 million, followed by $754 million on Tuesday, despite a $395 million outflow on Friday.
• Onchain data shows large Bitcoin holders have reduced selling pressure compared to late December, tightening available supply.
• Open interest for Bitcoin surged 20.8% year-to-date to $36.5 billion, indicating new money entering long positions.
• The Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index climbed from 29 (Fear zone) to 49 (Neutral zone) over the week, signaling improved market sentiment.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $1.42 billion in net inflows during the week ending January 16. This marks the strongest weekly performance since early October when the funds drew $2.7 billion.

The iShares Bitcoin Trust led the inflows with $1.04 billion for the week. Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund added $194.4 million in net inflows.

Nine ETF issuers reported weekly net inflows during the period. Only Grayscale Bitcoin Trust saw outflows of $1.6 million.

Wednesday recorded the largest single-day net inflow at roughly $844 million. Tuesday followed with $754 million in inflows.

The week ended with a pullback as Friday saw $395 million in net outflows. Despite this reversal, the weekly total remained strong.

The inflows reversed $680.9 million in net outflows from the previous week. Month-to-date net inflows in January now stand at $1.21 billion.

Bitcoin traded above $95,000 following the midweek surge in ETF demand. The cryptocurrency reached a January 14 high of $97,900, its highest level since December 4.

Supply Dynamics Shift

Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, said onchain indicators show large holders have reduced net selling. Whale distribution pressure has eased compared to late December.

Liu explained that ETF absorption combined with whale stabilization implies tightening effective supply. The market environment appears more risk-on as a result.

He characterized the shift as an early phase rather than full confirmation. Renewed inflows and reduced whale selling point to a more durable institutional bid forming.

Open Interest Climbs

Bitcoin open interest rose 20.8% year-to-date to $36.5 billion. Rising open interest combined with increasing prices suggests new money entering long positions.

Market intelligence platform Santiment noted that social media commentary has turned more bearish as prices bounced this week. The platform suggested that bearish retail sentiment may propel Bitcoin above $100,000.

Market Structure Factors

The Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index climbed from 29 in the Fear zone to 49 in the Neutral zone over the week. The index stood at 50 on January 17 before dropping to 49 on January 18.

Bitcoin macro intelligence newsletter Ecoinometrics noted that recent spikes in spot Bitcoin ETF inflows have triggered short-lived price rebounds. The newsletter argues Bitcoin needs several consecutive weeks of strong ETF demand to shift the broader trend.

Cumulative ETF flows remain deeply negative according to Ecoinometrics. Isolated positive days may stabilize prices but are unlikely to support a lasting uptrend without sustained inflows.

Ethereum ETFs also saw strong demand earlier in the week. Tuesday recorded the largest single-day net inflow of roughly $290 million, followed by $215 million on Wednesday.

Ethereum ETFs faced net outflows of roughly $180 million on Friday. Weekly gains totaled approximately $479 million.

Bitcoin held above its 50-day Exponential Moving Average following the weekly gains. The cryptocurrency remains below the 200-day EMA, indicating a bullish near-term but bearish longer-term technical bias.

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