U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs brought in about $507 million in net inflows on Feb. 25, marking the strongest one-day total in roughly two weeks. Around the same time, on-chain records showed BlackRock moving thousands of BTC from Coinbase Prime hot wallets to addresses linked to the iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, on Feb. 26.
IBIT-linked wallets received several BTC transfers in quick succession
Blockchain data shared by analytics firms showed multiple transfers of around 300 BTC each, along with one transfer of 108.6 BTC, landing in IBIT-linked wallets at about 5:45 PM UTC on Feb. 26. The transfers originated from Coinbase Prime hot wallets. Transaction records also indicated that BlackRock had acquired additional bitcoin in the days before and had sent bitcoin to Coinbase one day earlier.
ETF demand returned, with IBIT leading daily inflows
Data from SoSoValue showed that BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for about $297 million of the Feb. 25 inflow total, the largest among U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF issuers that day. Fidelity’s bitcoin ETF, Grayscale’s trust, and Bitwise also posted inflows. Other issuers saw smaller additions, while some of the smaller funds reported no net flows for the session. Cumulative net inflows across all issuers have reached tens of billions of dollars, according to the data.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the renewed inflows came after weeks of withdrawals. He added that the return of demand arrived at a useful time for the market, though it was still too early to say whether the move signaled a lasting rebound.
Bitcoin slipped despite stronger ETF flows
Bitcoin traded near recent highs but still moved lower during the day even as ETF demand improved. Market charts showed a brief intraday decline. On-chain analysts said profit-taking and active selling continued to cap price below key resistance, with demand fading as BTC approached that range. Recovery attempts earlier in February also met resistance in similar areas.
The result was a short-term split between fund flows and price action: institutional products pulled in fresh money, while spot-market selling pressure kept Bitcoin from breaking above nearby resistance.