Key Takeaways

Bitcoin ETF inflows have hit $7.78 billion since 9 June, with IBIT alone pulling $416M in a single day. In contrast, late May saw $1.3 billion in outflows, marking a clear divergence in market structure.

Since 09 June, Bitcoin [BTC] ETFs have raked in $7.78 billion in net inflows (about $353.8 million per day) as BTC pushed into price discovery mode.

What’s more impressive? Even after BTC tapped $120k and saw a sharp 1.7% pullback, ETF flows didn’t flinch. In fact, that day alone, $403 million still flowed in net, with BlackRock’s IBIT grabbing a chunky $416 million in gross inflows.

From a historical lens, that’s a key shift in market structure. Compare it to late May when BTC tagged $111k and promptly nuked by nearly 10% with no ETF bid to cushion the fall.

Source: TradingView (BTC/USDT)

Instead, risk-off sentiment took over. 

Around $1.3 billion bled out of Bitcoin ETFs between 29 May and 02 June. Even BlackRock’s IBIT saw its first net outflow in over a month, dragging BTC down to a multi-month low at $100,424.

Sure, it’s too early to rule out a repeat scenario as volatility’s still very much in play. However, here’s what stands out – IBIT now holds more BTC than MicroStrategy, stacking 700k+ BTC in its treasury.

With that kind of weight behind it, does this cement the structural shift we’re seeing?

Are Bitcoin ETFs becoming the new whale class?

Speculation that Bitcoin may have topped has been fueled by clear signs of whale selling.

As noted by CryptoQuant, the Binance Whale Activity Score jumped sharply right after BTC’s recent peak. Roughly 1,800 BTC were deposited to Binance.

On-chain data seemed to back this up too – BTC’s LTH supply dropped by 75,000 BTC in just under three days, reinforcing the idea that BTC’s drop was a well-timed strategic unwind by major players.

Source: Glassnode

Interestingly, this selling pressure coincided with nearly $700 million in net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, with IBIT alone pulling in close to $800 million gross. That’s more than 4x the estimated whale sell-side volume.

It’s a clear sign that Bitcoin ETFs are not just accumulating, but also soaking up liquidity during key volatility windows. 

This appeared to mark a structural divergence from earlier cycles – Something that risk managers, and macro-focused investors should be watching closely.