Gold and $BTC Are Now Officially Roommates — And the Landlord Wants Rent in Red 🪙

Gold and $BTC are heading in the same direction for once, and neither direction is up. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that the two macro hedges are close to "becoming roomies" in terms of capital outflows, with the so-called debasement trade unwinding as U.S.-Iran talks progress slowly. The GLD gold ETF and the GDX gold miners ETF have seen short interest spike 80% and 50% respectively in 2026, according to S3 data.

The retreat has mirrored weakness in $BTC, which extended its decline in 2026 after failing to advance beyond $83K during the Q2 relief bounce. The cryptocurrency printed a new yearly low of $57.7K this week before staging a brief recovery to $62K following a weaker U.S. jobs report.

ETF flows have reflected the broader retreat. For the first time since their debut in 2024, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $5.4B in H1 2026, according to DWF Labs. The Commitments of Traders (COT) data from the CME painted a similar picture, showing negative institutional positioning through most of the period with only brief positive readings in late March and April. CME net positioning has, however, briefly turned positive in recent sessions.

On Thursday, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of $221M, breaking a streak of 10 consecutive days of net outflows. QCP Capital analysts said the shift indicated "spot demand was beginning to firm," but cautioned that confirmation will depend on the 14 Jul CPI and 15 Jul PPI prints ahead of the month-end FOMC meeting. At press time, short-term upside resistance levels stood at $62.3K, the $65K-$67K zone, and the 200-day simple moving average near $75K.