The strong inflow of money into spot Bitcoin ETFs in the USA showed that institutional appetite is gaining momentum again as we enter 2026. The figures recorded in the third week of January indicated a significant break in investor behavior, which has been cautious in recent months. Although there was fluctuation on the price front, fund flows revealed that long-term positioning continued. Market actors read the picture on the axis of tightening on the supply side and leverage-induced volatility in the short term.
Institutional Demand Strengthens for Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Spot bitcoin ETFs traded in the United States last week recorded net inflows totaling $1.42 billion. The figure in question corresponds to the highest weekly level seen since the first week of October and reveals that the market attracted institutional capital again at the beginning of the new year.
The bulk of weekly inflows were concentrated in BlackRock’s IBIT fund, with net flows of $1.03 billion in the period ending Jan. 16. While SoSoValue data showed that limited but stable inflows continued in other products, it was noteworthy that the weekly total increased this much for the first time after mid-October.
During the period when fund flows accelerated, the price of bitcoin climbed from approximately $90,500 to $97,000 within a week. Market commentators emphasize that the inflows occurring simultaneously with the price increase highlight the long-term asset allocation approach, regardless of short-term fluctuations.
Leverage Pressure Increases as Price Retreats
Towards the end of the week, as the risk aversion trend strengthened due to the impact of geopolitical headlines, bitcoin experienced a sharp retreat. After the rising tension between the USA and the European Union over Greenland made headlines, the leading cryptocurrency lost 2.6 percent of its value in 24 hours on Sunday, falling to $92,618.
According to experts, the decline in prices was due to the unwinding of highly leveraged long positions accumulated in the futures market rather than capital entering ETFs. The turnaround, which started in an environment of shallow liquidity, triggered compulsory liquidations and deepened the selling pressure in a short time.
In the last 24 hours, the total liquidation amount in the cryptocurrency market reached approximately 824 million dollars. Coinglass data indicates that $763.7 million of liquidations came from long positions. During the same period, spot Ethereum ETFs had their strongest performance since October, with weekly inflows of $479 million.
