Institutional confidence in Bitcoin showed no signs of slowing this week as U.S. spot exchange-traded funds poured in billions despite mounting macroeconomic uncertainty.
The latest data indicates that professional investors remain undeterred by short-term volatility, continuing to treat Bitcoin as a long-term strategic asset rather than a speculative trade.
Fresh figures from Farside revealed that Bitcoin ETFs accumulated roughly $2.7 billion in new capital over the past week, boosting total holdings to nearly $159 billion – around 7% of Bitcoin’s entire market capitalization. The strong inflows have fueled optimism across digital asset markets, reinforcing the idea that institutional adoption is now driving market liquidity.
The week started with a bang as Monday alone brought in $1.21 billion – the second-largest daily inflow since U.S. Bitcoin ETFs debuted earlier this year. Activity remained strong on Tuesday, with nearly $876 million in additional inflows, before cooling slightly toward the end of the week as traders reacted to fresh tariff headlines from Washington.
When President Donald Trump confirmed plans to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, financial markets briefly wobbled, triggering modest redemptions of about $4.5 million across Bitcoin ETFs. Yet the overall trend remained decisively bullish. BlackRock’s flagship IBIT fund continued to dominate with $74 million in new daily inflows, while Fidelity and Grayscale saw minor withdrawals.
Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, suggested that investors viewed the tariff talk as political posturing rather than a policy shift. “Markets may shake short term, but institutional conviction hasn’t changed,” he explained, describing Bitcoin as the “digital gold” trade of this cycle.
Meanwhile, the broader ETF landscape has exploded with activity. Over the past two months alone, regulators have received 31 new crypto-related ETF filings, with most submitted in the first week of October. Analysts at Bloomberg now describe the situation as “the opening of the floodgates” for crypto investment vehicles, as nearly 100 such products await approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The surge in filings comes as optimism around “Uptober” continues to shape sentiment. Even as markets fluctuate, institutional capital appears to be positioning itself for what many see as a pivotal fourth quarter for digital assets – one where Bitcoin’s growing share in regulated financial products could mark a defining shift in mainstream investment strategy.
