Missiles are flying. Markets are jittery. Bitcoin ETFs? Still stacking.
As tensions flared between Israel, Iran, and the US over the past two weeks, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds notched 10 consecutive days of inflows, according to data from Ecoinometrics.
That’s not a record-breaking streak. But it’s telling, analysts say.
“Institutional demand for Bitcoin doesn’t flinch easily,” Ecoinometrics said on X on Wednesday.
“The streak is still intact and that sets the stage for Bitcoin’s upside potential to play out.”
A number of market watchers have predicted Bitcoin will soon surpass its all-time high of about $111,000. Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets at UK-based Standard Chartered, sees $120,000 per coin by July. Arthur Hayes, Maelstrom CIO, sees Bitcoin soaring to $1 million by 2028.
Bitcoin ETFs hold more than 1.2 million Bitcoin worth about $133 billion. That’s a whopping 6% of the network’s total supply, according to Dragonfly data analyst Hildebert Moulie.
Moreover, the consistency highlights something deeper: institutions don’t seem to be speculating anymore — they’re allocating. And they’re doing it in size, despite market jitters.
Sticky investors
Bitcoin’s price has risen in line with ETFs recent growth.
On June 22, as the US struck three alleged Iranian nuclear sites, Bitcoin dipped to about $99,000. It has quickly rebounded, and now trades near $107,000, less than 5% below its all-time high.
Bloomberg Intelligence ETF expert Eric Balchunas has also underscored the stickiness.
“The ETFs and Saylor have been buying up all dumps from tourists, FTX refugees, GBTC discounters, legal unlocks, government confiscations and Lord knows who else,” Balchunas said on X in April.
“ETF investors are much stronger hands than most think.”
‘Decoupling’
Executives at BlackRock, the leading issuer with over 52% of the entire spot Bitcoin ETF market, have become the de facto ambassadors for the top cryptocurrency this year.
“Institutional investors are really largely focused on Bitcoin,” Samara Cohen, BlackRock’s CIO of ETF and Index Investments said on April 28.
Cohen’s colleague, Jay Jacobs shares the notion.
“If you zoom out, you tend to see the longer term fundamental thesis of Bitcoin really drives it to behave differently to traditional assets,” he said on April 25.
In April, amid a tariff war between the US and China, Bitcoin began to decouple from traditional equities.
To be sure, the cease-fire in the Middle East could prove to be short-lived, and interest rates remain high. And although the temperature has dropped in the China and US tariff war, they could flare up at any time.
But for now, the message from Wall Street Bitcoin investors is clear: missiles, tariffs or rate fears — they’re not going anywhere.
Pedro Solimano is a markets correspondent based in Buenos Aires. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected].
