BlackRock’s IBIT captures 81% of $853M Bitcoin ETF inflow streak
Between August 3 and August 7, 2026, US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $853.5 million in net inflows over five trading days. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, known as IBIT, accounted for $693 million, representing 81% of the total Bitcoin ETF inflows. The inflows reversed a prior week's $61.5 million outflows and pushed cumulative net inflows across all US spot Bitcoin ETFs to $52.18 billion since launch. Total net assets in US spot Bitcoin ETFs rose to $79.50 billion, which is about 6.10% of Bitcoin's entire market capitalization. Inflows were unevenly distributed across the five days, with daily amounts of $170.1 million, $211.5 million, $244.4 million, $128.8 million, and $98.85 million respectively. On the final day, IBIT contributed $86.71 million, while Fidelity's FBTC was the next largest contributor with $40.95 million over the full period. Other Bitcoin ETFs such as Bitwise's BITB and ARK 21Shares' ARKB added only $2.11 million and $1.94 million respectively during the same timeframe. Several smaller funds including BTCO, HODL, and DEFI experienced minor outflows during the five-day inflow period. Bitcoin's price remained below $65,000 throughout the entire five-day period of inflows into Bitcoin ETFs. In addition to Bitcoin ETFs, US spot Ethereum ETFs attracted $244.9 million in inflows during the same week, bringing combined Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF inflows close to $1.10 billion.
Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs break $1B in their best week since April and BlackRock brought in 80% of the cash
US-listed spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs attracted over $1 billion in fresh cash this week, marking their strongest inflows since April 2026. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) absorbed about $896 million, representing more than four-fifths of the combined ETF inflows. IBIT dominated the inflows with roughly $693 million, while ETHA attracted approximately $203 million, accounting for over 80% of Ethereum ETF inflows. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded inflows in every session during the week ended August 7, 2026, totaling $853.54 million, their largest amount in nearly four months. The inflows followed disclosures of a security flaw in Coldcard hardware wallets, where attackers drained roughly 1,816 BTC worth about $116 million. Despite the timing, there is no evidence directly linking the Coldcard breach to this week's ETF inflows, though it refocuses the trade-off between self-custody and institutional custody. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas noted the timing of fund flows after the Coldcard losses but stopped short of claiming affected investors moved directly into ETFs. Balchunas suggested the breach might strengthen the case for institutional custody among long-term Bitcoin investors valuing security infrastructure. Since their US debut in January 2024, spot Bitcoin funds have recorded over $52 billion in cumulative net inflows and now oversee about $80 billion in net assets. The current inflow streak has brought roughly $566 million into these products, marking their longest weekly inflow streak this year. Ethereum ETFs began the week with $11.42 million in net outflows on Monday but reversed sharply to record significant inflows later in the week.
US Senate to vote on advancing CLARITY Act in September after Thune files cloture
US Senate Majority Leader John Thune has filed cloture on a motion to take up the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, also known as the CLARITY Act, setting a key procedural vote for September. The cloture vote will determine whether the Senate will consider the legislation, not whether the bill itself will pass at this stage. Invoking cloture requires 60 votes, so Republicans will need support from Democrats to overcome this procedural hurdle and advance the bill. Negotiations over the CLARITY Act have been complicated by disagreements regarding ethics provisions and rules governing stablecoin rewards, among other issues. Until recently, talks stalled due to proposed ethics provisions that would restrict government officials and their families from profiting from digital assets while in office. Lawmakers have been working on a bipartisan ethics addendum to address Democratic concerns about President Donald Trump's crypto-related financial interests. The CLARITY Act aims to establish a federal market structure for digital assets and clarify when crypto assets fall under securities or commodities laws. It also seeks to delineate oversight responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The procedural move to file cloture puts crypto market structure legislation back on track after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement before the August recess. Despite this progress, the move does not guarantee that the CLARITY Act will receive a final vote or pass the Senate. Additionally, the proposal would require the president to divest from certain crypto-related businesses, according to Bloomberg.
Trillions in institutional money to flow into bitcoin, says Bitwise's Matt Hougan
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan predicts that institutional investors will allocate trillions of dollars to bitcoin over the next decade. Hougan expects future demand to be driven less by corporate buyers like Strategy and more by large institutions such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. Spot bitcoin ETFs now offer easier access to bitcoin, which reduces Strategy's ability to sustain a premium to net asset value. Strategy has been one of the biggest buyers of bitcoin for years, holding 842,138 BTC even after some recent modest sales. Hougan said the easy paths to accumulation have been exhausted, so Strategy will continue buying bitcoin at a slower pace tied to the price cycle. The first professional investors to allocate at scale will be financial advisers and family offices, according to Hougan's email interview. Institutions control between $100 trillion and $200 trillion in assets globally, and a 1% allocation to bitcoin could support long-term price targets. Hougan's $1.3 million bitcoin price target by 2035 assumes bitcoin takes a 25% share of an expanding store-of-value market. Gold's market capitalization has grown from about $2 trillion in 2004 to roughly $30 trillion today, illustrating the scale of the store-of-value market. Bitcoin's market could reach $20 trillion, but institutional capital will be the key driver to move from $2 trillion to that level. Bitcoin grew from $0 to $2 trillion largely due to retail investors, but institutions hold most of the world's money, says Hougan.
Bitcoin ETFs draw $853.5M in five-day inflow streak
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $853.5 million during five consecutive inflow sessions in early August, reversing the previous week's withdrawals. The inflow streak began with $170.1 million on August 3 and continued with $211.5 million on August 4, according to SoSoValue data. Bitcoin ETFs started August with an $11.42 million outflow, then added $53.75 million on August 4 and $60.86 million on August 5. Daily inflows increased to $92.15 million on August 6 before easing to $49.60 million on August 7, contributing to the $853.5 million total. BlackRock's IBIT fund attracted an estimated $693 million over the five sessions, accounting for roughly 81% of the category's total inflows. On August 7 alone, BlackRock's fund added $86.71 million, while Fidelity's FBTC recorded $40.95 million in inflows that day. Withdrawals from Invesco and Galaxy's BTCO, VanEck's HODL, and Hashdex's DEFI totaled approximately $32.86 million during the same period. Total spot Bitcoin ETF net assets reached $79.50 billion by August 7, representing about 6.10% of Bitcoin's market capitalization. Cumulative net inflows since the launch of these products stood at $52.18 billion, with daily trading value reaching $1.57 billion. Despite the inflows, Bitcoin's price remained below $65,000, with ETF demand supporting but not breaking out above the $64,000 level.
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