Bitcoin ETFs Just Had Their Best 3 Days in 6 Weeks. So Why Isn't Bitcoin Soaring?

$1.1 billion in three days. That's how much money flooded into U.S. bitcoin ETFs this week, snapping a five-week streak of outflows and marking their strongest performance since mid-January. Yet bitcoin's price? Still stuck around $60,000.

Something doesn't add up.

BlackRock Led the Charge

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) dominated the inflows, pulling in roughly $652 million — more than half the total. Even Grayscale's GBTC, notorious for its high fees, posted its largest single-day inflow since converting from a trust to an ETF structure.

The Coinbase Premium Index turned positive for the first time in 40 days, signaling renewed U.S. institutional appetite. This metric tracks the price difference between bitcoin on Coinbase (accessible to U.S. firms) and the broader global market — essentially a thermometer for American institutional sentiment.

U.S. spot ETFs now hold 1.29 million BTC, with assets under management sitting less than 10% below their October peak. That's remarkable considering bitcoin's spot price remains 45% below its October record.

The Price Puzzle

Here's where it gets interesting. Despite this massive capital injection, bitcoin continues consolidating in the mid-$60,000s. If institutions are backing up the truck, why isn't the price responding?

The answer lies in the futures market. Open interest on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has continued declining to 107,780 BTC. This suggests the ETF buying represents genuine long exposure rather than basis trade activity — where institutions simultaneously buy spot bitcoin and short futures for arbitrage.

In other words, this isn't financial engineering. It's real demand. So what's keeping the price flat?

Two Markets, Two Stories

While institutions accumulate, retail sentiment tells a different story. Positioning in futures and options shows traders are increasingly protecting against further declines, particularly below the $60,000 threshold. The market is essentially split: institutions buying, retail hedging.

This divergence creates an unusual dynamic. Professional money managers see value at current levels, while individual investors remain cautious about downside risk. It's a standoff between institutional confidence and retail anxiety.

The Bigger Picture

The renewed ETF inflows coincide with broader market uncertainty. Bitcoin has been range-bound for weeks, neither breaking higher nor collapsing lower. This consolidation phase might actually be healthy — allowing institutions to accumulate without triggering FOMO-driven price spikes that could attract regulatory scrutiny.