I noticed something interesting in the recent movements of the bitcoin ETF market. On Monday, US spot bitcoin funds recorded about $167 million in net inflows, which really reverses the trend from the previous weeks. This is exactly the kind of rebound we expected after the massive outflows at the beginning of the year.

What strikes me is the resilience of it all. Eric Balchunas of Bloomberg highlighted this: during six months when bitcoin plunged by around 40%, these ETFs kept attracting demand instead of triggering a cascade of liquidations. It completely changes the narrative. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust led the move and is recouping its losses since the start of the year. We’re talking about one of the top 2% ETFs in terms of projected inflows for 2026.

Balchunas also revived an interesting comparison with gold. A decade ago, when gold prices collapsed toward 2013, gold-backed funds lost assets in large numbers. But spot bitcoin ETFs absorb the price shock and rebound faster. This suggests that bitcoin holders behave differently from traditional gold investors—possibly with stronger long-term conviction.

Then there’s Wall Street activity. Strategy has filed documents for up to an additional $42 billion in bitcoin futures purchases, and Morgan Stanley is also moving forward with its own spot bitcoin ETF project. This is the signal we were looking for: traditional finance continues to see value in bitcoin products despite the recent volatility.

The bitcoin ETF flows from the past few days, combined with these corporate deposits, tell the same story: institutional engagement is broadening, while supply is tightening. March figures are approaching $2.5 billion in inflows, which really brings the cumulative totals for the year close to zero. With one or two more days like Monday, this could flip back to positive. This is the kind of momentum nobody expected after bitcoin’s 40% drop.