The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Onchain data shows sizable bitcoin and ether movements tied to BlackRock’s spot ETFs, echoing earlier January flows tied to creation and redemption activity.
Analysts said institutional traders are tightening risk amid macro uncertainty, but noted that outflows do not reflect structural weakness.
Ark Invest says the crypto market could reach about $28 trillion by 2030, driven by wider adoption of public blockchains and digital assets.
Analysts said the outflows reflect a temporary derisking from institutional investors, rather than a fundamental rejection of crypto's value.
Institutional investor interest in spot bitcoin ETFs, like the one offered by BlackRock, continues to grow.
Bitcoin continues to decline in a downturn triggered by concerns of a potential trade war between the U.S. and the EU.
Bitcoin funds took in $1.55 billion while ethereum and solana added $496 million and $45.5 million, respectively.
The inflows signal renewed institutional demand for bitcoin as a long-term asset, even amid short-term volatility, an analyst said.
Institutions are increasingly betting on bitcoin's bullish moves and moving away from sophisticated 'arbitrage' bets.
By mid-january 2026, Bitcoin price rose about 12%, surpassing the $95K resistance level after a period of stagnation. This rise is fueled by strong institutional demand and positive macro conditions. However, short-term catalysts are uncertain, though key on-chain factors point to a bullish outlook. Institutional Demand Reignites BTC Price Momentum The Bitcoin price chart, which …
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
With ETFs and corporate treasuries absorbing more bitcoin than expected, the market is entering a more institutional, lower-volatility era.
Bitcoin, ether, solana and XRP spot ETFs all posted net inflows on Wednesday, led by the strongest day for bitcoin funds in months.
US spot bitcoin ETFs reported $843.6 million in net inflows on Wednesday, which is the highest daily total since Oct. 7
The expected increase is likely to be supported by additional crypto regulation, including the passage of the Clarity Act in the U.S.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Bitcoin has climbed to an eight-week high near $97,000 as this week's rally continues and speculators eye $100,000 in January.
Heightened spot ETF inflows and improved macroeconomic clarity have helped boost crypto prices, analysts told The Block.
The asset manager sent 3,290 bitcoin, worth about $298 million, along with 5,692 ether valued near $17.8 million.
21Shares launched BOLD, a Bitcoin-Gold ETP on the LSE, following FCA retail approval and rising UK crypto demand.
The first full trading week of 2026 saw XRP and SOL ETFs log net inflows, while bitcoin and ether funds struggled in comparison.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
A new Digital Asset Act will regulate stablecoins, requiring 100% reserve backing and user redemption rights.
South Korea is taking a decisive step toward mainstream crypto adoption, with the government signaling support for the launch of spot digital asset exchange-traded funds, including a Bitcoin ETF, as early as 2026. The initiative is part of the country’s newly unveiled 2026 Economic Growth Strategy, which places digital assets at the center of long-term …
Outflows continue to reflect portfolio rebalancing, profit-taking, and short-term caution amid market consolidation, one analyst noted.
Bitcoin ETFs have registered a net outflow of over $1 billion in three days.
Structural demand, historical timing, and January inflection points collide in 2026.
Morgan Stanley’s decision to file for spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs caught even seasoned ETF watchers off guard and in Jeff Park’s telling, it’s a stronger signal about crypto’s next leg of adoption than another round of flows into the existing market leaders. The surprise wasn’t merely that a major wirehouse wants in. It was the branding and the timing. Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart said he “didn’t see this coming,” amplifying Eric Balchunas’ “SHOCKER” reaction to the filings. Seyffart then pointed to Matt Hougan’s framing of what made it unusual: “Morgan Stanley manages 20 ETFs, but mostly under the Calvert/Parametric/Eaton Vance brands. These will be the 3rd and 4th ETFs to bear the ‘Morgan Stanley’ brand. Pretty remarkable.” Park, the head of alpha strategies at Bitwise and ProCap CIO, argues the late-cycle entry is precisely why the filing matters. “It is unheard of for a vanilla ETF product to launch two years after the first to market has already secured the liquidity throne,” he wrote. “IAU famously tried a year later, and never caught up.” Park’s point was that Morgan Stanley wouldn’t make that bet unless internal channels were flashing something the broader market still underestimates. Why This Is ‘The Most Bullish Thing’ For Bitcoin Park framed the filing as a total addressable market story, not a product story. “It means the market is MUCH bigger than even crypto professionals anticipated, especially to reach NEW customers,” he said. “This signals that despite IBIT being the fastest ETF in history to reach $80Bn in AUM (roughly 1/5th the time it took for second place VOO), there is enough untapped interest as viably researched and ascertained through MS’ proprietary wealth channels that they are willing to bet that a branded product has commercial viability.” He finished that thought with the kind of line that reads like a thesis statement for 2026: “It means we are still so early.” Related Reading: Bitcoin Wins As Trump Pumps GDP, Suppresses Oil: Arthur Hayes The “why now” also fits with Seyffart’s longer-running view that institutional platforms would eventually shift. “I’ve been saying for literal years that most of these firms will change their tune on crypto,” he wrote. “But it really was just a couple months ago that Morgan Stanley advisors were barred from buying crypto ETFs for their clients.” In other words: the timeline is compressing, and the posture is moving from cautious access to product ownership. Park’s second argument is that Morgan Stanley is treating Bitcoin as an identity product as much as an allocation sleeve. “It means that Bitcoin is ‘socially’ important just as much as it is ‘financially’ important as a product to offer to customers,” he wrote. “Consider the fact that for being ‘digital gold’ there are virtually no branded gold ETFs in existence, yet for Bitcoin there is.” In his view, that difference is the tell: a house-branded Bitcoin ETF isn’t only about exposure, it’s about what the firm signals to clients and recruits by having it at all. Park argued the branding functions as a credibility marker with a specific audience in mind. “This is because every asset manager knows that having a Bitcoin ETF communicates that they are forward thinking, young, and a little edgy that allows targeting the most challenging investor cohort that everyone wants to reach: UHNW Independent Investors,” he said.“ Related Reading: Bitcoin Funding Rates Improve, But Signal Still Not Decisive: Glassnode Morgan Stanley is making the bet that even if their ETF doesn’t scale to blockbuster success, there’s an intangible benefit that will help build their clout.” The third pillar is defensive: platform economics. “It is at the core a defensive move against platform disintermediation and fee leakage,” Park wrote. “By launching their own BTC ETF after IBIT already consolidated liquidity, Morgan Stanley is implicitly acknowledging a hard truth: DISTRIBUTION owns the customer, not product superiority.” He added why that matters strategically: “They are not going to let advisors default to third parties by outsourcing the economic rent. That’s why at first glance while this launch looks irrational through a pure AUM lens, also totally inevitable through a PLATFORM ECONOMICS lens.” That logic also surfaced in Seyffart’s exchange with James Van Straten, who asked why anyone would be surprised if a firm has “own distribution” and “huge demand from clients.” Seyffart’s answer didn’t dispute demand; it underscored that Morgan Stanley historically “doesn’t do a ton of ETF launches,” and that the decision to do so here is itself informative, even if, as he put it, “there’s plenty of demand” for many products that platforms never bother to manufacture. On timing, Seyffart said approval is “at least 75 days from now,” emphasizing that 75 days can be the fastest possible path under current processes, but also that “there’s plenty of products that don’t launch right at 75 days.” At press time, Bitcoin traded at $91,256. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Unfilled price gaps in futures and ETFs are emerging as key downside reference levels for bitcoin as weakness emerges.