IBIT Finally Cracks a Smile, Wall Street Chases Whales Into Bitcoin's $221M Glow-Up 🐋

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $221.7 million in net inflows on July 2, snapping a 10-day outflow streak that had drained $2.73 billion from the products, according to SoSoValue data. The single-day haul marked the largest daily intake in roughly two months for the funds, which launched in January 2024, and came after June registered as the worst month on record for US spot Bitcoin ETFs with about $4.5 billion in net redemptions, surpassing the prior record of $3.56 billion set in February 2025. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) remained on the sidelines with a $40.4 million outflow, extending its own losing streak, while Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) led the rebound with $166 million, followed by ARK 21Shares' ARKB at $91.8 million and VanEck's HODL at $4.4 million, per Farside Investors data. Bitcoin last traded near $61,700, down about 17% over the past month and roughly 54% below the all-time high of $126,080 set on October 6, 2025.

The turn coincided with a softer US labor market print and a shift in tone from the Federal Reserve. The June jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls rising by 57,000, well below the roughly 110,000 consensus, while Fed Chair Kevin Warsh indicated that inflation risks had eased, cooling bets on further rate hikes. Bitcoin ETFs had posted a record 30-day net outflow of -$6.35 billion earlier in the stretch, according to Galaxy Research, which noted that figure ranked first across all 582 rolling 30-day windows it tracks. BlackRock US head of equity ETFs Jay Jacobs told Cointelegraph that "if we see a day of outflows, there could be a million reasons why. It could be someone selling IBIT and buying BITA," referring to the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA) that launched during the period. Jacobs added that "every asset class has volatility… we have over 450 exchange-traded funds within iShares. So we see inflows and outflows every day across a wide range of assets from large cap, small cap, Bitcoin, gold, etc. So in the short term, it's absolutely not something that changes the way we view the asset or the utility of the asset."

On-chain data from Bitfinex analysts showed large holders accumulated more than 270,000 $BTC, worth about $16.7 billion, over the two weeks preceding the reversal, while the US spot premium stayed negative. CryptoQuant's Spot Average Order Size metric recorded large whale orders arriving every day since June 30, including a tracked order of about 857 $BTC near $63,600 on July 5. Glassnode data showed roughly 10.83 million $BTC sitting at a loss against 9.22 million in profit, while the Long-Term Holder SOPR moved from a monthly average of 1.03 to 0.8, indicating realized losses for seasoned holders. On July 7, IBIT recorded $209.4 million in inflows, its first significant positive session in weeks, with US spot Bitcoin ETF totals reaching $265.7 million for the day, according to Farside Investors.

Year-to-date flows remained in the red at about $5.4 billion, and Galaxy Research said daily outflows had been "still deepening day over day" during the heaviest stretch. Cumulative net inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at roughly $51.2 billion to $53.4 billion, down from a peak near $63 billion in October 2025, while total net assets slipped below $73 billion for the first time since late 2024, compared with a record $169.5 billion in October 2025. Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, bought roughly 3,600 $BTC in June, down from about 25,000 in May and more than 50,000 in April, including a net sale of 32 $BTC earlier in the month, and its perpetual preferred stock STRC closed at $75.69 on Thursday, down 6.37%. Several analysts cautioned that a single green session does not yet mark a sustained inflow trend or confirm a lasting recovery in $BTC.