Bitcoin remains below 70K despite achieving a significant milestone of 20B ETF inflow

Despite the recent record-breaking milestone for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the Bitcoin price has been unable to surpass the $70,000 mark. On October 17, US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs reached a total net flow of $20 billion, achieving a milestone that took gold ETFs nearly five years to reach. BTC reached a high of $69,487 on October 21 but has since pulled back to trade at $68,570 as of 8:25 am UTC. Bitfinex analysts believe that the sluggish price action may be due to the delayed impact of ETF inflows, which can take a few days to affect the spot BTC price. The order book suggests that crypto traders are using ETF flows as exit liquidity for their trades. Positive ETF inflows could potentially help the Bitcoin price reach a new all-time high. In February, just one month after the launch of US-based spot BTC ETFs, they accounted for around 75% of new investments in the cryptocurrency, which had already surpassed the $50,000 mark at the time. While Bitcoin ETFs have had limited immediate impact on the price, with several days often passing before inflows generate bullish momentum, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF brought in over $1.17 billion worth of Bitcoin last week. Bitfinex analysts explain that a portion of these ETF inflows could be part of a delta-neutral trading strategy, which could explain why their price impact has been muted. Despite this, Bitcoin managed to close the week above the psychological mark of $69,000, which could set it up for a rally to retest the re-accumulation range above $71,000 for the first time since June 2024. Additionally, the approval of the first Bitcoin ETF options in the US by the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 18 could lead to further positive ETF inflows for Bitcoin.